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HERE  AND  THERE 


IN 

YUCATAN. 


MISCELLANIES 


BY 

ALICE  D.  Le  PLONGEON, 

AUTHOR  OF 

YUCATAN— ITS  ANCIENT  PALACES  AND  MODERN  CITIES. 


J.  W.  BOUTON, 

706  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 

1886. 


Entered  according  to  an  Act  of  Congress,  October  ist,  1886,  by 
ALICE  D.  Le  PLONGEON, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Publishers 

'Book  Composition  and  Electrotyping  Co. 
157  and  159  William  Street 
New  York 


PREFACE. 


DURING  a sojourn  of  several  years  in  Yuca- 
tan, traveling  here  and  there,  stopping 
where  we  found  interesting  vestiges  of  the  Mayas, 
the  highly-civilized  ancient  inhabitants  of  that 
country,  we  had  every  opportunity  of  mingling 
with  the  natives.  Thus  we  became  acquainted  with 
their  mode  of  life,  religion,  sacred  rites,  superstitions, 
fables  and  traditions ; as  well  as  learning  something 
of  their  philosophy,  and  observing  how  communism 
is  practiced  among  them.  In  a ranch  called  X-Uaiul, 
near  the  ruined  city  of  Zay,  the  inhabitants  still 
preserve  the  customs  of  their  ancestors.  Not  only 
do  they  work  their  fields  in  common,  and  share 
equally  the  product  of  their  labor,  but  even  the 
food  is  cooked  for  all  in  one  building,  every  family 
sending  thither  for  its  allowance,  which  is  regulated 
according  to  the  number  of  persons  in  each  home. 
They  even  intermarry — no  one  dreaming  of  seeking 
a husband  or  a wife  outside  of  their  community. 


PREFACE . 


At  different  times  I have  published,  in  papers  and 
magazines,  various  articles  on  these  subjects,  some 
being  reproduced  in  English  periodicals.  It  is  in 
compliance  with  the  request  of  friends  that  a few  of 
those  articles  have  been  brought  together  in  this 
little  volume,  which  is  now  cast  adrift  to  sink  or 
swim,  as  its  fate  may  be. 


CONTENTS, 


ALONG  THE  COAST, 

AMONG  THE  TURTLE  CATCHERS, 

GEMS  BURIED  IN  THE  SAND, 

BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL, 

THE  EVIL  EYE,  - 

PYGMIES,  REAL  AND  FICTITIOUS, 

TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES, 

THE  CARIBS,  - 

REMARKABLE  WELLS  AND  CAVERNS, 
IDOLATRY  IN  YUCATAN, 

NEW  YEAR’S  DAY  AMONG  THE  MAYAS, 
BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM, 

THE  LOST  LITERATURE  OF  THE  MAYAS, 
FABLES  TOLD  BY  THE  MAYAS  INDIANS, 
MAYA  ROMANCE, 

PHILOSOPHY  OF  AN  INDIAN  SAGE, 
SUPERSTITION  CONCERNING  ECLIPSES, 
EVOCATION  OF  SPIRITS, 


I 

19 

23 

28 

45 

53 

62 

70 

76 

83 

93 

98 

106 

121 

127 

131 

i37 

140 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


HE  Vivi  was  a sloop  of  twenty  tons  burden, 


bound  for  Islands  Mugeres  and  Cozumel,  places 
we  had  long  desired  to  visit ; we  therefore  decided  to 
take  this  opportunity.  The  sloop  was  anchored  be- 
fore Progreso  (port  of  Yucatan),  and  would  start 
that  night.  At  dusk  we  descended  the  slippery 
steps  of  the  wooden  pier,  and  when  a big  wave 
brought  the  skiff  near  our  feet,  jumped  into  it  and 
were  rowed  to  the  Vivi,  that  looked  very  diminutive 
rocking  on  the  dark  billows,  for  the  sea  was  de- 
cidedly rough.  The  captain  helped  us  to  scramble 
on  deck,  and  we  set  sail  immediately. 

I have  a dim  recollection  of  taking  possession  of 
the  cabin,  which  was  about  eight  feet  square,  with 
a bench  at  the  further  end,  and  a berth  on  each  side, 
and  remember  ardently  wishing  that  all  the  globe 
was  terra-firma,  or  that  I had  never  been  born,  as 
well  as  indulging  in  a great  many  other  unphilo- 
sophical  thoughts  that  seasickness  will  induce,  par- 
ticularly when  cockroaches  two  inches  long  are 
wandering  over  the  victim.  That  was  June  20,  and 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


2 

the  following  are  the  eloquent  and  remarkably  in- 
teresting memoranda  of  the  next  four  days : 

21.  At  dusk  anchored  a short  distance  from  land  at  a place  called 
Telchac.  How  stupid  I was  to  come  in  this  miserable  boat ! 

22.  Stopped  at  Sacrisan,  and  again  at  Hacun.  Don’t  know  why. 

23.  Stopped  at  Dilan.  Wish  the  water  would  stop.  Head  wind. 
Heavy  thunder  storm.  Very  rough.  Extra  sick.  Wish  I was  dead  ! 

24.  Stopped  at  Holbox.  Feel  a little  better.  Ate  a cracker.  Fine 
weather. 

To  those  who  have  been  seasick  I need  offer  no 
apology  for  such  a diary;  they  will  fully  understand 
that  I am  not  responsible. 

Holbox  is  a picturesque  Indian  village  whose  in- 
habitants make  a living  by  catching  turtle  to  send  to 
British  Honduras,  where  the  demand  is  constant. 
Near  the  shore  there  were  turtles  in  pens.  For  a 
moment  we  feared  that  some  of  those  creatures, 
weighing  500  pounds  each,  might  be  added  to  our 
freight ; and  to  see  them  on  the  deck,  on  their 
backs,  their  flaps  sewn  together,  and  gasping  for 
breath,  is  enough — almost — to  make  one  jump  over- 
board. The  huts  of  the  fishermen  are  a long  dis- 
tance from  the  shore,  and  the  indolent  natives  pos- 
itively refused  to  bring  water  to  the  sloop,  though 
we  had  stopped  expressly  for  that,  being  much  in 
need. 

Charming  as  the  village  looks  at  a distance,  it  has 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


3 


one  great  drawback,  being  infested  with  the  terrible 
Uolpoch  (the  wickedly  minded),  a snake  thus  named 
by  the  Indians  because  without  any  provocation 
whatever  it  attacks,  drawing  itself  up  after  the  man- 
ner of  a cheese-maggot,  and  darting  at  its  victim  a 
few  feet  distant.  The  venom  of  this  viper  causes 
the  blood  to  ooze  through  every  pore  of  the  skin, 
and  death  always  ensues  in  a very  short  time.  No 
antidote  for  the  poison  is  known,  and  the  natives 
greatly  dread  this  snake,  because,  owing  to  its  color, 
it  can  easily  be  mistaken  for  a piece  of  dry  wood 
when  it  lies  straight  on  the  ground.  It  is  two  feet 
long,  about  an  inch  and  a half  in  diameter  through- 
out its  length,  the  tail  terminating  as  if  cut  obliquely, 
and  the  mouth  shaped  like  the  beak  of  a quail. 

We  next  cast  anchor  at  Island  Contoy  to  avoid  a 
long  line  of  reefs  that  are  difficult  to  see  in  the 
darkness  of  night.  Island  Contoy  is  four  miles  long, 
very  picturesque,  and  totally  uninhabited  except  by 
millions  of  sea  birds.  At  dusk  immense  flocks  came 
home  and  hovered  over  the  Vivi,  as  if  to  examine 
the  great  object  that  had  approached  their  domains. 

After  dark  the  island  is  a dreadful  place  in  the 
estimation  of  the  simple-minded  folk  who  frequent 
those  waters,  because  a great  treasure  said  to  be 
buried  there  is  supposed  to  be  guarded  by  a phan- 


4 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


tom.  One  old  man  who  pretended  to  know  the 
whereabouts  of  the  treasure  is  said  to  have  been 
frightened  from  the  place  by  the  apparition  of  a 
gigantic  negro,  accompanied  by  a fierce  hound. 
Three  men  once  made  a bet  to  pass  the  night  on 
the  island,  and  actually  went  there;  but  it  is  believed 
that  they  were  pursued  and  terrified  to  death  by 
the  spectral  keeper  of  the  hidden  gold,  for  daylight 
revealed  one  prostrate  corpse  on  the  beach,  another 
in  the  water,  and  the  third  man  was  a raving  maniac 
who  never  recovered  reason. 

Several  years  ago  it  was  generally  thought  that 
pirates  had  buried  various  treasures  there,  but  in 
what  particular  places  no  one  knew.  At  certain 
times  of  the  year  fishermen  from  the  mainland  went 
to  the  island  to  fish,  building  huts  to  serve  them 
for  the  season.  One  day  when  a few  of  these  men 
were  on  the  beach,  a large  American  vessel  ap- 
peared on  the  horizon.  In  due  time  it  cast  anchor 
before  Contoy.  Several  men  landed,  and  producing 
papers  and  maps,  said  that  they  had  come  for  cer- 
tain money  buried  there. 

Strange  to  say,  their  map  led  them  to  the  very 
spot  where  the  fishermen  had  built  their  hut : the 
thatched  roof  was  right  over  the  treasure ! The 
occupants  were  told  that  if  they  would  dig  they 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


5 

should  be  handsomely  rewarded ; so  they  went  to 
work  and  soon  unearthed  some  large  boxes  filled 
with  gold  coin,  which  were  promptly  put  on  board. 
Then  the  ship  sailed  away  with  its  precious  freight, 
after  the  fishermen  had  been  paid  a hundred  dollars 
each  for  their  labor  of  an  hour.  This  account  was 
given  us  by  one  of  those  very  fishermen,  now  quite 
aged. 

On  the  tenth  day  after  leaving  Progreso,  about 
nine  o’clock  at  night,  we  sailed  into  the  beautiful 
Bay  of  Dolores,  at  Mugeres  Island,  or  Women’s 
Island,  as  the  Spanish  conquerors  called  it,  because 
they  found  in  the  temples  of  the  natives  many 
images  of  women.  The  water  of  the  bay  was  as  un- 
ruffled and  crystaline  as  a sheet  of  emerald  ; and  the 
village  of  Dolores  made  a charming  picture,  with  its 
thatched  cottages,  boats  hauled  up  on  the  white 
beach,  and  tall  palms  waving  like  feathered  cano- 
pies above  the  dwellings ; while  the  perfect  stillness 
made  usalmost  imagine  that  we  beheld  an  enchanted 
island  awaiting  the  touch  of  a magic  wand.  That 
wand  was  the  first  golden  sun-ray  that  shot  from 
the  east,  calling  every  creature  to  life  and  action. 
Doors  were  thrown  open;  faint  columns  of  smoke 
wreathed  their  way  to  the  cloudless  sky ; children 
ran  to  the  beach  to  float  their  toy  ships  ; fishermen 


6 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

launched  their  boats ; women  passed  to  and  fro,  and 
feathered  songsters  warbled  their  sweetest  lay.  No 
wonder  that  the  last  pirate  chief,  Captain  Lafitte, 
made  this  island  his  headquarters.  Some  old  people 
there  well  remember  him  as  “a  nice  gentleman  who 
paid  for  everything  he  had  from  the  fishermen  along 
the  coast,  and  never  harmed  any  poor  person.” 

It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
that  Lafitte  became  a terror  to  the  ships  that  navi- 
gated the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Caribbean  Sea,  among 
the  West  India  Islands  down  to  the  coast  of  Vene- 
zuela. In  the  beautiful  harbor  of  Mugeres  Island 
he  found  perfect  shelter  from  the  storms  that  at 
certain  times  of  the  year  sweep  with  violence  along 
those  coasts;  and  on  the  top  of  some  dunes  south 
of  what  is  now  the  village  of  Dolores  he  built  small 
towers,  whence  he  could  keep  an  eye  on  the  sur- 
rounding waters.  The  foundations  of  these  towers 
yet  remain  in  place,  and  “ every  Christmas  Eve  the 
ghost  of  a sailor  wanders  about  the  hills.”  No  one 
dares  speak  to  him,  believing  that  it  would  cause 
them  to  die  within  one  year. 

When  not  on  board,  Lafitte’s  men  lived  in  huts 
on  the  very  spot  where  the  village  now  is.  Lafitte 
is  described  as  having  been  very  haughty  with  his 
men,  punishing  the  least  breach  of  discipline,  and 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


7 

never  allowing  them  to  approach  him  without  first 
asking  permission,  although  he  was  kind  to  the  poor 
people  on  the  coast.  Once,  when  the  Alcalde  of  a 
village  refused  to  sell  him  meat  for  his  men,  he 
caused  them  to  seize  a bull  and  put  it  on  his  ship. 
On  being  told  by  the  fishermen  that  that  bull  had 
been  brought  for  their  amusement  in  a festival,  he 
had  it  at  once  restored  to  them,  stating  that  he 
would  be  sorry  to  deprive  them  of  the  little  pleasure 
they  had  in  their  life  of  toil  and  hardship.  After 
the  bull-fight,  plenty  of  meat  was  sent  to  him  as  a 
present;  then  he  insisted  on  paying  for  it,  saying  that 
he  would  take  nothing  from  the  poor. 

The  tragic  fate  of  this  pirate  king  is  told  and  re- 
told by  those  who  recollect  the  event.  Just  at  a 
time  when  some  of  Lafitte’s  ships  were  away  from 
the  place  of  rendezvous,  a strong  force  was  sent 
against  him.  He  encountered  it  near  Contoy  and 
fought  bravely,  but  his  ship  struck  a rock  and  sunk. 
He  took  to  the  boats  with  eight  or  ten  men,  and 
succeeded  in  landing  on  a sandbank  called  Blanquilla, 
but  was  pursued  and  surrounded.  One  by  one  all 
his  men  fell ; still  he  refused  to  surrender,  and  was 
killed  there,  defending  himself  as  long  as  there  was 
breath  in  his  body. 

The  bay  is  generally  animated,  because  many  fish- 


8 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

ing  smacks  from  Cuba  frequent  those  waters,  and 
the  captains  make  the  bay  their  headquarters,  as  the 
pirates  did  at  the  beginning  of  this  century.  These 
smacks  are  generally  handsome  schooners,  of  thirty 
to  seventy  tons  burden,  divided  in  three  compart- 
ments. The  central  one  forms  a large  tank  whose 
sides  are  perforated  with  hundreds  of  holes,  through 
which  the  sea  water  passes  freely  in  and  out.  As 
soon  as  caught  the  fishes  are  bled  by  piercing  them 
behind  the  right  fin  with  a thin,  hollow,  cylindrical 
tube,  then  thrown  in  the  tank,  to  be  transferred  to 
other  large  cages,  also  perforated,  that  are  anchored 
near  shore  ; these  are  closed  with  a padlock.  When 
enough  fish  are  caught  to  almost  fill  the  vessel’s 
tank,  they  are  taken  to  Havana  to  be  kept  in  other 
tanks  till  required  for  the  market. 

In  case  of  stormy  weather  or  laziness,  the  captains 
remain  at  Mugeres  Island  for  days  together,  never 
in  a hurry  to  leave ; for  if  in  Spain  they  have  one 
family,  here  also  there  are  blue-eyed  children  to 
climb  on  their  knees  and  call  them  “ Papa.”  This 
state  of  affairs  does  not  seem  to  be  out  of  the  way 
there  ; it  may  be  that  few  have  preserved  the  right 
to  point  the  finger  at  their  neighbor. 

Besides  the  schooners  from  Havana,  there  are 
coasting  sloops  that  carry  on  considerable  contra- 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


9 

band  between  British  Honduras  and  Yucatan,  stop- 
ping at  the  island  for  any  cargo  they  can  get. 

As  for  the  islanders’  boats,  they  constantly  come 
and  go ; some  are  exceedingly  small.  The  fisher- 
men handle  them  most  skillfully,  one  alone  easily 
manages  rudder  and  sail ; they  frequently  stand  up- 
right in  the  smallest  craft,  apparently  as  much  at 
ease  as  on  land.  To  balance  large  boats  they  tie  to 
the  mast  a rope  with  a long  loop  at  the  other  end. 
In  this  a man  sits  as  in  a swing,  his  feet  resting  on 
the  edge  of  the  weather-side  of  the  boat  that  is  thus 
kept  straight  in  a very  strong  wind,  the  man  swing- 
ing himself  backward  over  the  water. 

The  east  side  of  the  island  presents  a complete 
and  beautiful  contrast  to  the  west.  Rocks  and  crags 
run  from  one  end  to  the  other,  the  never-tiring 
waves  ceaselessly  dashing  against  them.  What 
scope  for  the  wildest  fancy  on  this  rocky  shore! — 
with  its  millions  of  periwinkles  and  other  shell  fish. 
A lilliputian  world — miniature  caverns,  shells  of 
every  shape  and  color,  tiny  tunnels,  rivers  and  lakes, 
filled  with  sparkling  bubbles  of  foam — and  the  sea 
eternally  roaring. 

We  found  a strange  character  living  on  the  island 
apart  from  every  one  except  two  men  who  serve 
him.  With  them  he  makes  houses,  stone  walls,  and 


IO 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


statues  of  himself.  He  calls  himself  Spanish  Con- 
sul and  fomentador , has  large  plantations  of  vege- 
tables, and  plenty  of  cattle,  yet  will  neither  give 
nor  sell  anything  to  anybody,  not  even  a little  milk 
for  any  one  who  is  sick.  Vegetables  and  fruits  ri- 
pen and  rot,  while  his  cattle  roam  everywhere  and 
spoil  all  that  other  people  plant.  He  works  like  a 
slave,  and  only  allows  himself  one  scanty  meal  a day. 
No  one  knows  why  he  lives  such  an  austere,  isolated, 
selfish  existence.  It  is  understood  that  in  his 
younger  days  he  was  engaged  in  the  slave-trade  on 
the  African  coast,  and  the  people  believe  he  must 
have  committed  some  heinous  crime  that  keeps  him 
a prey  to  remorse,  which  he  tries  to  stifle  by  doing 
penance.  Some  say  he  is  haunted,  and  others  that 
he  is  looking  for  the  treasure,  because  he  frequently 
changes  his  place  of  residence,  building  a new  hut 
each  time.  He  has  plenty  of  gold  ounces,  yet  sel- 
dom approaches  the  village.  When  he  passes  along 
the  beach  at  twilight  the  friendly  chat  is  suddenly 
hushed,  and  some  one  exclaims,  in  an  awe-struck 
whisper:  “ There  goes  Mondaca!” 

After  some  delay  we  obtained  a canoe  to  take  us 
to  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  only  six  miles  dis- 
tant. Our  object  was  to  examine  some  ancient 
structures  at  a place  called  Meco,  where  pilgrims 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


II 


used  to  worship  every  year  when  on  their  way  to 
Mugeres  and  Cozumel,  whither  they  went  as  Ma- 
hometans journey  to  Mecca. 

After  the  bush  was  cut  down  we  succeeded  in 
measuring  a temple:  it  was  ten  feet  in  height,  built 
on  the  summit  of  an  artificial  mound  forty  feet  high, 
with  stone  steps  on  the  east  side.  In  the  base  of  the 
mound  there  were  very  small  rooms,  in  which  we 
were  just  able  to  stand  upright. 

Surrounding  the  courtyard  where  the  temple  was 
there  were  other  apartments  of  the  same  size,  that 
may  have  served  as  lodgings  for  pilgrims;  only 
people  under  three  feet  high  could  be  comfortable 
in  them.  As  we  stooped  to  crawl  in  and  out,  we 
conjured  up  visions  of  diminutive  individuals  going* 
back  and  forth,  and  up  and  down  the  almost  per- 
pendicular stairs,  in  quaint  and  scanty  attire,  bear- 
ing offerings  to  propitiate  the  dear  gods  of  the  sea. 
All  the  other  buildings  at  Meco  were  equally  small ; 
and  the  natives  affirm,  as  a matter  of  course,  that 
they  were  built  and  inhabited  by  dwarfs. 

There  is  another  of  these  strange  cities  further 
down  the  coast,  called  Nizucte ; and  though  exposed 
to  a visit  from  hostile  Indians,  we  found  there  three 
men,  one  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  a pretty 
daughter  of  eighteen  summers.  They  were  from 


12 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


the  village  of  Dolores,  and  having  put  up  a thatched 
roof  intended  to  remain  at  Nizucte  a few  days, 
working  hard  at  scraping  a woolly  substance  from 
the  trunk  of  a fan-palm  called  in  Spanish  guano. 
We  asked  how  much  they  could  earn  at  that  work, 
and  were  informed  that  one  aroba  (twenty-five 
pounds)  is  worth  $2.50;  three  people  working 
together  obtain  that  amount  in  two  days.  The  stuff 
is  used  to  make  cushions  and  pillows,  being  as  soft 
as  feathers,  but  firmer.  The  leaf  of  the  guano  is 
baked  underground,  and  made  into  very  strong 
ropes  that  serve  the  fishermen  in  their  boats ; the 
canoe  we  had  engaged  had  no  other  rope  in  it.  The 
fresh  leaves  make  excellent  fans,  that  retain  a 
bright-green  color  for  eight  or  ten  days.  They  were 
put  into  our  hands  to  keep  off  mosquitos  when  we 
were  invited  to  be  seated  on  a log  under  the  thatched 
roof.  The  pretty  girl  offered  us  cigarettes  ; she  was 
astonished  -yvhen  we  declined.  Not  smoke  ! It  was 
such  a consolation  ! Would  we  not  try  just  a very 
little  one  ? She  seemed  to  regard  me  as  an  object  of 
pity  because  I had  never  used  tobacco,  and  my  hus- 
band as  a very  peculiar  being  for  having  given  up  the 
use  of  the  weed. 

These  people  informed  us  that  the  “ queer  old 
houses  ” were  close  by.  The  largest  building  proved 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


1 3 

to  be  a diminutive  temple,  at  the  entrance  of  which 
were  two  enormous  snake  heads  made  of  concrete  ; 
they  were  embraced  and  encircled  by  gnarled  roots, 
that  looked  like  dark-skinned  serpents  entwining  the 
mineral  representations  of  the  same  reptiles.  Near 
by  we  found  two  large  human  legs,  also  concrete* 
and  a square  pedestal  one  foot  high,  on  which  was 
a symbol  of  the  Phallic  worship,  two  lobsters  and  a 
small  turtle,  all  made  of  concrete.  The  doorway  of 
the  temple  was  three  feet  high  and  one  and  a half 
wide.  The  structure  consisted  of  large,  well-hewn 
stones,  and  the  ceiling  formed  a triangular  arch  with, 
capping  stones,  though  outside  the  building  was 
square. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  see  all  the  ruins,  but  the 
dwner  of  our  canoe  said  he  could  not  return  to  the 
village  till  next  day,  or  perhaps  the  day  following, 
as  he  desired  to  load  his  boat  with  lime  and  wood  ; 
we  had  therefore  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

After  dark  we  sat  round  an  enormous  camp  fire, 
and  knowing  that  it  was  not  impossible  for  us  to  be 
disturbed  by  wild  beasts  or  Indians,  we  vied  with 
each  other  in  telling  blood-curdling  stories  to  make 
the  time  pass  pleasantly.  Near  the  fire  there  were, 
two  trees  of  poison-oak  at  a convenient  distance 
from  each  other  to  hang  a hammock  from  them,  so 


14 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


there  we  decided  to  sleep,  but  the  mosquitoes  were 
determined  that  we  should  not ; there  were  mil- 
lions of  these  fiendish  insects,  and  no  amount  of 
smoke  seemed  to  annoy  them.  A refreshing  shower 
sprinkled  us  now  and  again,  which  relieved  us  from 
our  tormentors  for  a few  minutes. 

On  our  way  back  to  Island  Mugeres  we  passed 
through  immense  schools  of  sardines,  and  that 
evening  enjoyed  some  of  them  for  dinner.  They 
were  very  large  and  of  a remarkably  fine  flavor,  but 
the  people  in  those  parts  only  catch  a few  now  and 
then  to  serve  as  bait  for  bigger  fish. 

Our  next  expedition  was  to  the  salt  pits  in  the 
middle  of  the  island.  By  an  underground  passage 
these  large  pools  communicate  with  the  sea  on 
the  east  side.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fishing 
season,  men  and  women  go  to  collect  the  salt 
that  is  deposited  by  evaporation  on  the  shore  of 
the  pools.  They  seem  to  regard  it  as  a kind  of 
picnic,  though  the  work  is  laborious,  especially  for 
the  women,  who  stand  up  to  their  waists  in  muddy 
water  all  day  long,  putting  the  salt  into  large  turtle 
shells  that  serve  instead  of  vats.  It  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  transport  the  salt  by  land  to 
village  Dolores ; the  only  roads  are  narrow  pathways 
through  the  thicket,  and  the  soil  is  so  rocky  and 


ALONG  THE  COAST.  I 5 

uneven  that  it  is  tiresome  to  walk,  much  more  so  to 
carry  a load.  A great  extent  of  the  interior  of 
the  island  is  taken  up  by  a most  picturesque  lake 
that  opens  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay  by  a narrow 
channel  through  which  the  water  of  the  ocean 
enters.  The  lake  is  consequently  subject  to  tides, 
and  it  is  navigable  for  the  majority  of  the  canoes 
used  by  the  fishermen. 

The  channel  is  crooked  and  scarcely  more  than 
nine  feet  wide,  having  dense  thickets  of  mangroves 
on  each  side.  It  takes  about  half  an  hour  to  go 
through  it,  then  the  lake  suddenly  opens  to  our 
view,  truly  a charming  scene  ! It  is  surrounded  by 
banks  twenty  feet  high,  covered  with  verdure ; sea- 
gulls soar  overhead,  filling  the  air  with  discordant 
screams,  while  pelicans,  herons  and  storks,  are 
perched  here  and  there,  half  hidden  among  the  foli- 
age, motionless,  wistfully  watching  the  water,  to 
catch  the  unsuspicious  fish  that  venture  within 
their  reach. 

The  lake  is  nearly  three  miles  long;  its  southern 
end  reaches  to  within  a hundred  yards  of  the  salt 
pit;  thus  the  labor  of  transporting  the  salt  is  made 
comparatively  easy. 

During  our  stay  at  the  village  Dolores,  we  ex- 
amined a curious  old  manuscript,  written  in  very 


1 6 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN . 

quaint  Spanish,  that  is  called  the  “ Book  of  the  Jew." 
It  is  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  people  there  as 
well  as  by  many  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  mainland, 
and  so  highly  appreciated  that  those  who  possess 
copies,  either  in  print  or  manuscript,  can  hardly  be 
induced  to  let  them  go  out  of  their  hands.  For  the 
benefit  of  the  reader  we  give  a few  extracts  from 
the  volume : 

“ For  the  bite  of  vipers  take  two  inches  from  the 
middle  of  the  snake’s  body,  burn  it ; then  put  the 
ashes  on  the  wound.  It  will  be  cured.” 

Heart  disease  and  epilepsy  are  trifling  matters  for 
the  “Jew;”  his  unfailing  remedy  is — “Three  swal- 
lows’ hearts  tied  to  the  patient’s  left  arm.” 

Here  is  advice  “ for  the  faint-hearted.”  “ Wear  a 
small  bag,  containing  Artemesia,  over  the  heart ; it 
will  give  thee  vigor  and  daring.”  “ A spider  rolled 
in  its  web  and  worn  around  the  neck  will  cure  ague 
and  fever.” 

“ To  prevent  hydrophobia  let  a woman  swallow  the 
tongue  of  a male  iguano,  and  a man  that  of  a female 
iguano.” 

For  some  diseases  the  patient  is  advised  to  cook 
a turkey  buzzard,  feathers  and  all,  and  drink  the 
broth.  Ground  bones  of  the  skunk  are  likewise 
much  recommended. 


ALONG  THE  COAST. 


17 

“ Cook  the  head  of  a rattlesnake  in  a new  vessel 
containing  a pint  of  vinegar,  then  take  from  the 
head  the  little  thorn-like  fangs.  One  of  these  ap- 
plied to  an  aching  tooth,  will  make  it  fall  out  with- 
out any  pain  ; but  take  care  not  to  touch  any  other 
tooth,  for  as  many  as  you  touch  will  fall  out.” 

Those  who  have  a poor  memory  are  advised  to 
use  mustard  as  snuff:  “a  very  little  of  it  and  you 
will  understand  more  in  one  hour  than  those  who  do 
not  know  the  secret  will  in  a day.” 

“ Every  human  body  consists  of  four  humors: 
phlegm,  blood,  anger,  and  melancholy,  to  which 
correspond  four  elements:  heat,  cold,  moisture,  and 
dryness.” 

And  this  book  was  published  several  years  ago 
as  a learned  work  on  medicine  ! 

At  the  south  end  of  the  island,  on  a narrow  prom- 
ontory, there  is  an  ancient  shrine,  built  of  well-hewn 
stone,  abandoned  since  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
To  it,  in  ages  gone  by,  pilgrims  repaired  from 
far  and  near  to  deposit  offerings  on  the  altar. 
These  chiefly  consisted  of  clay  figures  represent- 
ing the  human  body  or  parts  of  it ; fragments  of 
them  are  found  in  the  sand  all  around.  We  were 
fortunate  enough  to  unearth  a very  perfect  face, 

that  of  a woman,  and  a pair  of  feet  with  sandals. 

2 


IS  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

The  shrine  stands  on  a platform  2 metres  high, 
and  is  itself  3 metres  in  height  (9  feet,  9 inches) 
with  a frontage  of  6 metres.  The  doorway  faces 
south,  and  the  walls  are  nearly  three  feet  thick. 
The  interior  was  divided  in  two  rooms,  the  altar 
being  in  the  smallest. 

The  lintels  of  the  doorways  are  sapote  wood. 
On  them  various  names  have  been  carved  at  differ- 
ent times.  Among  others  we  saw  that  of  Mr. 
Goodall,  with  the  date  1841.  This  gentleman  is  now 
President  of  the  American  Bank  Note  Company  in 
New  York  City. 

In  the  floor  of  the  largest  room  there  was  a big 
hole  that  was  made  by  some  one  searching  for  a 
certain  treasure.  The  rocky  elevation  upon  which 
the  shrine  stands  is  a wild  and  romantic  spot,  its 
base  surrounded  by  crags  against  which  the  roaring 
billows  constantly  dash  their  white  foam.  On  each 
side  the  rocks  are  yielding  to  the  unceasing  action 
of  the  waves  ; already  part  of  the  platform,  and  the 
east  wall  of  the  shrine,  has  been  carried  down  into 
the  sea.  Atom  by  atom,  the  entire  structure  will 
thus  disappear  in  the  course  of  time. 


AMONG  THE  TURTLE  CATCHERS.* 


HE  air  was  exquisitely  soft  and  balmy,  the 


JL  moon  so  brilliant  that  every  fleeting  cloud 
was  reflected  in  the  clear  water  of  Dolores  Bay, 
while  the  white  sand  of  the  shore  glittered  under 
our  feet  as  we  sauntered  along  enjoying  the  beauty 
of  the  scene.  In  this  peaceful  bay,  six  miles 
from  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  the  Spanish 
ships  anchored  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago. 
The  principal  industry  of  the  villagers  is  fishing, 
and  from  the  month  of  April  to  August,  all  their 
attention  is  given  to  turtle-catching.  So,  on  that 
moon-lit  night,  as  we  strolled  along  the  beach,  men, 
women,  and  children  also  wended  their  way  to  the 
north  end  of  the  island,  where  all  was  silent  as  the 
white  tombstones  in  the  village  grave-yard  by  which 
we  passed.  A few  hastened  their  steps  as  if  they 
feared  a departed  friend  might  stalk  fortlrin  wind-  # 
ing-sheet. 

Reaching  a place  where  thick  shrubs  grew,  not 
far  from  the  water’s  edge,  all  concealed  themselves 


* Published  in  “ Harpers’  Bazar.” 


20 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


behind  the  bushes  or  in  the  shadow  cast  by  them, 
and  from  their  hiding-place  watched  silently  for  the 
turtles.  These  prolific  creatures  come  to  lay  their 
eggs  in  the  sand,  never  failing  to  select  a spot  above 
high-water  mark  ; consequently  at  low  tide  they  have 
to  go  a good  way  up  on  the  beach. 

Having  chosen  a place,  they  quickly  make  a hole, 
and  deposit  therein  about  one  hundred  eggs,  over 
which  they  again  put  the  sand,  leaving  the  spot  in 
appearance  as  they  found  it ; so  that  no  one  would 
discover  the  nest  but  for  their  tracks.  The  turtle  im- 
mediately returns  to  the  water,  leaving  the  eggs  to 
be  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  ; in  due  time  the 
little  ones  make  their  way  out  and  go  straight  to 
the  sea. 

When  the  turtle  begins  to  cover  the  eggs  the 
people  creep  from  their  hiding-place  and  cut  off  her 
way  to  the  water;  then,  when  she  starts  toward 
them,  they  capture  her  and  turn  her  over,  not  with- 
out trouble,  for  some  weigh  as  much  as  five  hundred 
pounds.  The  flaps  are  tied,  and  a mark  set  on 
the  shell,  so  that  when  morning  comes  each  party 
may  know  which  they  have  captured.  The  family 
that  catches  two  or  three  in  a night  is  well  satisfied. 

The  turtles  have  formidable  jaws,  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  keep  one’s  hands  well  out  of  their  reach,  for 


AMONG  THE  TURTLE  CATCHERS. 


21 


they  can  break  a man’s  limb  as  we  can  a match. 
As  for  conchs — most  abundant  in  those  waters — 
though  the  shell  is  hard  to  break  with  a hammer, 
the  cahuamo  easily  cracks  it,  to  eat  the  delicious 
contents. 

The  cahuamo,  or  hawk-bill,  is  the  largest  kind  of 
turtle,  weighing  from  200  to  500  pounds.  Its  flesh 
tastes  like  good  beef,  but  is  generally  left  on  the 
beach  to  rot  and  be  consumed  by  buzzards,  the 
people  not  being  numerous  enough  to  eat  it  all, 
though  large  quantities  are  dried  and  salted  to  be 
sold  as  jerked  beef.  Speculators  once  went  to 
considerable  expense  to  try  and  preserve  this  meat, 
but  we  are  told  it  turned  bad  in  the  cans. 

The  catchers  gather  the  eggs,  the  fat,  and  shell, 
though  the  last  is  worth  so  little  that  they  do  not 
always  take  the  trouble  to  lift  it  from  the  beach ; 
many  are  scattered  over  the  sand.  The  eggs  are 
considered  a great  delicacy,  and  taste  very  rich,  but 
have  a strange  sandiness  that  is  unpleasant  to  the 
palate. 

The  carey  ( Chelonia  imbricata)  is  smaller  and  of 
more  value.  The  least  the  islanders  will  take  for 
the  shell  is  two  and  a half  to  three  dollars  a pound ; 
rather  than  accept  less  they  will  keep  it  in  their 
house  from  one  year  to  another.  The  carey,  as  well 


22 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


as  the  green  turtle,  is  caught  with  harpoons  and 
nets.  The  green  turtle  is  carried  to  British  Hondu- 
ras, where  they  are  worth  from  one  and  a half  to 
three  dollars  each,  the  shell  not  being  used.  The 
poor  creatures  are  transported  in  small  sailing  ves- 
sels, where  they  lie  on  their  backs  on  deck  exposed 
to  the  scorching  sun,  and  once  a day  have  buckets 
of  water  dashed  over  them  to  keep  them  alive. 

Large  pens  are  built  at  the  water’s  edge  to  keep 
the  turtles  in  until  shipped  for  the  market.  When 
they  become  lean,  from  being  kept  thus  too  long,  in 
order  that  they  may  fatten  again,  they  are  set  free 
in  the  lake  that  is  in  the  interior  of  the  island — after 
being  branded  with  the  mark  of  the  owner.  They 
never  multiply  there,  nor  make  their  way  through 
the  channel  out  to  the  ocean,  but  owing  to  the  good 
aliment  that  they  find,  are  soon  again  in  fine  con- 
dition for  the  market. 


GEMS  BURIED  IN  THE  SAND* 


ONNECTED  with  almost  all  the  small  islands 


\^/in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  and 
the  Caribbean  Sea  there  is  some  “ treasure  story," 
but  perhaps  none  so  well  authenticated  as  that  of 
Mugeres  Island.  This  lovely  little  isle  is  in  latitude 
north  2i°  18',  and  longitude  west  86°  42',  Greenwich 
meridian,  and  about  a hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  British  Honduras. 

Pirates’  exploits  and  their  buried  piles  of  gold 
and  gems  are  the  inexhaustible  source  of  all  the 
romantic  stories  that  the  fishermen  love  to  tell  on 
moonlight  nights,  seated  on  the  bottom  of  some 
boat  turned  up  on  the  beach.  They  suspect  that 
others  dream  of  treasures  as  much  as  they  do, 
for  strangers  are  closely  watched.  Whichever  way 
we  strolled,  some  one  kept  us  in  view.  When  we 
mentioned  this  to  Don  Pedro  Pobedano,  one  of  the 
oldest  inhabitants,  he  said,  “ They  think  you  have 
come  for  the  treasure,  which  they  would  never  allow 
to  be  taken  by  a stranger.”  So  we  invited  Don 


* Published  in  “ Harpers’  Bazar.’ 


24 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


Pedro  to  tell  us  about  it,  and  he  gave  us  the  story 
as  follows : 

“ Nearly  all  of  us  are  from  Yalahau,  on  the  oppo- 
site coast  (Yucatan),  but  we  always  came  here  to 
fish.  I was  a little  shaver  when  my  uncle  first 
brought  me,  yet  I remember  everything.  One 
morning  a schooner  hove  in  sight;  it  soon  cast 
anchor  in  this  bay.  There  were  armed  men  on 
board.  They  came  ashore,  but  seemed  not  to 
notice  us ; we  watched  and  saw  them  look  all 
around.  One  evening  when  we  returned  to  our  camp 
we  missed  some  tortillas  (Mexican  bread),  and  could 
not  find  out  who  had  taken  them.  Next  day  the 
same  thing  happened,  and  so  the  next ; then  a boy 
was  set  to  watch.  He  hid  himself,  saw  an  old 
man  steal  from  the  bush,  snatch  some  bread,  and 
quickly  retreat. 

“ My  uncle  resolved  to  capture  the  thief.  Next 
day  we  started  in  our  boats,  as  usual,  but  soon 
anchored  in  a small  cove  near  by,  and  walked  to  the 
camp,  where  we  hid  ourselves.  We  let  the  old  man 
enter  the  hut;  then  we  surrounded  him,  and  learned 
that  he  had  come  on  board  the  schooner  to  show 
the  others  where  a treasure  was,  he  having  seen  it 
buried.  Overhearing  a conversation  in  which  it 
was  agreed  to  kill  him  when  the  treasure  was  un- 


GEMS  BURIED  IN  THE  SAND. 


25 

earthed,  so  that  he  might  not  demand  his  share, 
he  ran  away  and  hid  in  the  woods,  watching 
for  our  absence,  to  procure  food.  He  seemed 
greatly  afraid  of  the  companions  he  had  left;  so  my 
uncle  told  him  he  was  welcome  to  share  with  us, 
but  had  better  keep  out  of  sight  till  the  schooner  was 
gone.  Very  soon  the  treasure-seekers  went  off  in 
their  ship,  no  richer  than  they  came,  probably  believ- 
ing the  old  man  dead;  but  he  was  hale  and  hearty, 
with  all  his  wits  about  him,  though  seventy  years 
of  age.  Concerning  himself,  he  said  : ‘ When  quite 
young  I was  kidnapped  and  taken  on  board  a pirate 
ship,  where  I was  made  cabin-boy.  One  day  the 
crew  entered  a city  on  the  coast  and  sacked  it,  tak- 
ing lots  of  gold  coin,  precious  things  from  the 
churches,  and  the  bishop’s  jewels.  What  a glit- 
tering pile  it  was ! They  put  it  all  in  boxes  cov- 
ered with  lead,  and  brought  them  here,  landing 
them  on  the  north  end  of  this  island,  where  they 
dug  a trench  in  the  sand  sixty  steps  from  the  water’s 
edge.  In  the  trench  they  laid  the  treasure,  and 
covered  it  with  a piece  of  tarpaulin  and  a light 
coating  of  sand.  Then  the  captain  asked  for  volun- 
teers to  guard  it. 

“ ‘Two  negroes  stepped  forward, and  were  instantly 
shot  by  the  captain,  who  ordered  their  bodies  to  be 


26 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


thrown  on  the  boxes,  saying  that  they  would  take 
better  care  of  them  dead  than  alive,  because  anyone 
finding  bones  would  look  no  further.  The  trench 
Was  then  refilled,  and  on  it  three  stones  were  placed 
to  form  a triangle,  a crowbar  being  buried  ten  steps 
from  them.  Our  ship  was  soon  afterwards  captured, 
and  every  one  on  board  put  to  death  except  me,  be- 
cause I was  young  and  had  been  kidnapped.’ 

“After  much  persuasion,”  continued  Don  Pedro, 
he  pretended  to  look  for  the  treasure,  but  I think 
he  feared  to  indicate  the  spot  lest  we  should  kill 
him,  as  the  others  had  proposed  to  do,  though 
we  would  not  have  hurt  the  old  man.  We  took 
him  to  our  village,  and  he  went  to  Campeche,  where 
he  died.  Nothing  was  heard  about  the  treasure 
for  several  years,  during  which  time  we  formed  this 
village,  when  one  day  men  arrived  from  Cam- 
peche, bringing  a government  permit  to  dig  for  it. 
All  the  trenches  back  of  the  old  church  were 
made  by  their  order.  They  did  not  look  at  the 
north  point  of  the  island,  but  they  were  so  sure  of 
finding  the  money  that  they  paid  the  people  here 
who  worked  for  them  double  their  usual  wages,  and 
spent  many  dollars,  going  away  so  much  poorer,  for 
they  found  nothing.  They  had  lost  a map,  they 
said,  that  indicated  the  existence  of  a high  stone 


GEMS  BURIED  IN  THE  SAND. 


27 

having  the  form  of  a cachucha , and  the  boxes  were 
buried  in  front  of  that.  ( Cachucha  is  a flat  cap,  also 
a small  boat.)  Another  party  came  to  search  on  the 
south  side  of  the  village,  with  no  better  success,  and 
the  last  comers  looked  in  vain  at  the  north  point. 
In  1 847, when  the  first  settlers  came,  a youth,  looking 
for  fire-wood,  let  fall  his  machete  (long  knife),  and  it 
struck  something  sounding  like  metal,  which  proved 
to  be  a crowbar.  The  youth  took  it  away  without 
marking  the  spot,  for  he  had  heard  nothing  about 
the  treasure ; and  yet  he  was  within  ten  steps  of  it. 
It  can  only  be  found  by  the  one  it  is  intended  for. 
Once  I thought  I had  it.  Digging  to  make  the 
foundation  of  a house,  we  came  upon  human  bones; 
then  I had  an  immense  trench  opened,  but  found 
nothing  more.” 

We  thanked  Don  Pedro  for  the  story,  and  de- 
cided not  to  look  for  the  bishop’s  jewels,  though 
we  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  stone  like  a 
cachucha  at  the  north  point  of  the  island,  and,  sixty 
steps  from  it,  the  three  stones  forming  a triangle. 
In  fact  an  old  negro  in  the  city  of  Tizimin  had  given 
us  the  proper  directions,  but  we  never  had  a chance 
to  dig ; there  were  too  many  eyes  watching  us,  and 
it  might  have  cost  us  our  life. 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL* 


EN  miles  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan 


8 lies  the  Island  of  Cozumel,  one  of  Nature’s 
favored  spots,  where  there  is  perpetual  spring,  and 
to  live  in  the  open  air  is  a delight.  We  wanted  a 
house,  nevertheless,  and  were  by  no  means  charmed 
when  informed  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to 
find  a lodging. 

The  centre  of  the  village  of  St.  Miguel  is  an  im- 
mense grass-grown  square,  bounded  on  the  west  by 
the  sea,  on  the  east  by  a thatched  church,  and  on 
north  and  south  by  thatched  dwellings.  The  rest 
of  the  village  is  scattered  along  the  beach  and  a 
little  way  back,  not  far,  for  there  are  only  five  hun- 
dred inhabitants. 

Having  no  tent  to  pitch,  we  emphatically  in- 
sisted on  a house,  and  were  at  last  allowed  to 
take  possession  of  a one-room  residence  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  square.  It  was  gloomy, 
damp,  dirty;  the  floor  thickly  strewn  with  dry 
cocoa-nuts.  It  had  two  doors  but  no  window.  In 


* Published  in  “New  York  Tribune. 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


29 

one  corner  there  was  a pile  of  cocoanuts,  to  which 
we  immediately  began  adding  others.  We  were 
throwing  one  after  another  as  fast  as  possible  when 
the  old  priest  of  the  village  introduced  himself  and 
said  he  was  glad  to  find  out  what  the  noise  was,  as 
he  had  feared  it  might  be  an  earthquake  coming  on; 
though  they  had  never  had  one  in  Cozumel.  Father 
Rejon  was  in  shirt  sleeves,  for,  said  he,  “ I cannot 
afford  to  wear  a coat  every  day.”  He  invited  us 
to  go  and  play  cards  with  him  in  the  evening ; and 
also  gave  us  the  welcome  intelligence  that  our  house 
was  haunted. 

We  were  still  throwing  the  nuts  when  an  Indian 
girl  came  running  across  the  square  to  invite  us  to 
dine  with  her  mistress.  We  therefore  locked  our 
doors  and  went  to  the  house  of  Dona  Concha.  In 
her  sitting-room  we  found  Captain  Low— in  whose 
schooner  Aryetis  we  had  arrived — and  several  un- 
fortunate hens  tied  in  pairs  by  the  feet,  struggling 
on  the  floor.  The  poultry  of  Cozumel  are  of  superior 
size  and  quality,  and  when  taken  to  Key  West 
always  fetch  a good  price.  Captain  Low  wanted 
five  dozen  that  had  to  be  collected  from  all  over 
the  village.  He  paid  36  cents  for  each,  though 
for  the  same  birds  the  villagers  only  charged  each 
other  25  cents.  The  captain  also  wanted  a load 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


30 

of  fruit;  but  that  he  could  not  have,  because  Dona 
Concha  said  only  a week  or  two  before  a tornado 
had  swept  over  the  island  uprooting  every  fruit 
tree. 

These  periodical  tornadoes  are  the  only  drawback 
to  life  in  Cozumel.  Perhaps  that  is  one  of  the  rea- 
sons why  it  is  almost  uninhabited.  Nevertheless 
when  the  Spanish  Conquerors  arrived  there,  more 
than  350  years  ago,  the  population  numbered  100,- 
000,  besides  50,000  pilgrims  who  yearly  visited  the 
shrines.  The  island  was  then  called  Cuzamil,  which 
means  in  Maya  language  “ the  swallows.” 

The  soil  is  strewn  with  vestiges  of  ancient  dwell- 
ings that  are  concealed  beneath  forests  rich  with 
valuable  timber.  Among  the  trees  are  the  ebony, 
brazil-wood,  cedar,  sapote,  ramon,  rosewood,  and  the 
zac-ha-na  (house  of  white  water)  under  whose  roots 
there  is  always  a spring  of  pure,  clear  water.  The 
thickets  are  alive  with  pheasants,  quails,  pigeons 
and  other  game.  With  a little  care  every  kind  of 
tropical  fruit,  of  very  fine  quality,  grows  abundantly; 
vanilla  is  found  wild : plenty  of  copal  can  be  gath- 
ered from  the  trees,  as  well  as  honey  and  wax,  the 
product  of  harmless  wild  bees. 

Only  labor  is  needed  to  turn  all  this  to  wealth. 
The  natives  have  quite  as  much  work  as  they  care  to 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL . 


31 

do,  being  contented  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth.. 
We  found  a few  Americans  from  New  Orleans, 
and  Key  West  living  there.  They  said  that  they 
could  make  plenty  of  money  if  they  had  good 
laborers. 

Tobacco  grown  in  Cozumel  is  quite  equal  to  the 
weed  produced  in  Cuba,  and  many  cigars  sold  as 
“ Havanas  ” are  from  Cozumel,  whence  they  are 
sent  boxed  ready  for  the  market.  The  principal 
planter  there,  Mr.  J.  Anduze,  took  us  through 
his  plantation,  fifteen  miles  from  St.  Miguel,  and 
gave  us  a little  useful  information.  When  the  plant 
is  two  feet  high,  the  top  is  broken  off  to  prevent 
further  growth,  that  the  whole  strength  and  vir- 
tue may  be  taken  up  by  the  leaves  already  formed; 
only  a few  plants  are  left  to  run  to  seed.  The 
same  soil  does  not  serve  for  tobacco  more  than  one 
year,  but  during  that  time  three  crops  can  be  raised. 
Such  leaves  as  turn  yellow  before  the  weed  is  ready 
to  pluck  must  be  cut  off ; they  are  used  in  second- 
rate  cigars.  The  ground  must  be  kept  perfectly 
free  of  all  other  weeds.  When  ripe  the  plant  is. 
hung  up  for  eight  or  ten  days,  within  doors,  to  dry 
thoroughly.  Each  leaf  is  then  separately  moistened 
in  a decoction  of  tobacco  and  strung  on  a fine  wire. 
The  wires  are  stretched  in  lines,  one  above  another,. 


32  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

in  a building  kept  for  the  purpose.  The  operation 
of  drying  and  moistening  is  repeated  four  or  five 
times,  after  which  the  leaves  are  tied  up  in  bundles, 
put  in  hogsheads,  and  covered  over  to  “sweat.” 
It  is  upon  this  “ sweating  ” operation  that  the  flavor 
and  odor  of  the  cigar  depend.  The  principal  occu- 
pation of  the  islanders  is  tobacco  growing  and  cigar 
making. 

Near  the  plantation  there  were  some  curious  little 
buildings  that  had  once  served  as  temples  to  a very 
diminutive  race  of  people,  whose  existence  is 
proved  by  whole  cities  of  similarly  small  houses  on 
the  east  coast  of  Yucatan.  We  examined  the  edi- 
fices, but  the  owner  of  the  plantation  said  that  there 
were  some  much  more  interesting  at  a place  called 
Buena  Vista.  We  decided  to  go,  though  the  Indian 
selected  as  a guide  said  the  road  was  bad.  We 
started  with  him  and  his  four  small  hunting  dogs, 
and  soon  acknowledged  that  the  road  might  be 
better.  The  fact  is  there  was  no  road,  nothing  but 
a footpath  through  the  dense  forest,  so  obliter- 
ated in  places,  owing  to  the  tornado,  that  even  our 
guide  paused  from  time  to  time  to  consider  whether 
he  was  keeping  in  the  track.  We  were  walking  on 
coral  rocks  over  which  there  was  a perfect  net-work 
of  small  roots,  just  like  ropes,  spreading  in  every 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


33 

direction,  the  interstices  being  of  a most  convenient 
size  to  catch  heel  or  toe.  From  time  to  time  the 
dogs  made  off  in  quest  of  fancied  prey ; then  losing 
their  way,  set  up  a dismal  howling  for  their  master 
to  guide  them  back  with  his  voice.  These  dogs, 
though  small,  fearlessly  chase  the  boar  and  hold  it 
at  bay  till  the  hunter  comes  to  kill  it,  which  is 
generally  done  with  a wooden  spear. 

When  we  had  walked  about  five  miles,  and  were 
as  tired  as  if  we  had  been  tramping  for  twenty-four 
hours  on  a good  road,  we  asked  our  guide,  who  had 
not  once  opened  his  lips,  except  to  whistle  to  his 
dogs,  if  we  were  near  Buena  Vista.  “ Not  half  way,” 
was  the  crushing  reply.  We  dared  not  rest  for  more 
than  a few  minutes,  as  the  forest  was  cool  and 
damp,  and  we  were  profusely  perspiring  from  con- 
tinual efforts  to  keep  from  stumbling.  Another 
mile — the  rocky  hills  getting  steeper  and  steeper.. 
Then  we  observed  that  our  boots  were  falling  to 
pieces ! The  Indian  seemed  to  chuckle  inwardly  at 
our  misery  when  he  informed  us  that  there  was  no 
place  to  rest  at  Buena  Vista,  much  less  any  cobbler 
to  mend  our  boots.  It  was  evident  that,  even  if  we 
came  in  sight  of  the  old  houses^ — not  worth  looking 
at,  in  the  opinion  of  our  guide — this  would  be  a 

bootless  journey  anyhow.  Our  feet  were  already 
3 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


34 

blistered ; so  we  turned  homeward,  vowing  that  the 
next  time  an  Indian  said  a road  was  bad  we  would 
be  content  to  take  his  word  for  it. 

We  arrived  at  the  plantation  limping  as  though 
we  had  been  on  a nine  days’  tramp,  and  before 
we  could  reach  shelter  a shower  of  rain  drenched 
us  to  the  skin.  The  consequence  was  a burning 
fever  all  night,  our  torture  being  increased  by  hun- 
dreds of  tiny  wood-ticks  that  had  worked  their  way 
under  our  skin.  To  complete  our  chagrin,  we  were 
assured,  by  one  who  had  been  there,  that  at  Buena 
Vista  there  was  a building  ornamented  with  hiero- 
glyphics sculptured  in  stone : we  did  not  decide  to 
try  it  again. 

Our  journey  back  to  the  village  was  a delightful 
contrast  to  the  attempted  trip  to  Buena  Vista.  We 
went,  on  horseback,  along  the  shore,  through  groves 
of  palm-trees,  passing  now  and  then  by  plantations 
where  luxuriant  sugar-cane  and  many  other  products 
showed  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  how 
at  the  time  when  this  ancient  Mecca  was  frequented 
by  thousands  of  devout  pilgrims,  it  could,  being 
thoroughly  tilled,  easily  yield  abundant  nourishment 
for  all. 

We  then  made  up  a boat  party  with  some  of  our 
countrymen  who  were  trying  to  form  a colony  there. 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


35 

The  boat  belonged  to  them  ; it  was  not  more  than 
fifteen  feet  long,  but  big  enough  to  accommodate 
five  people.  After  an  hour’s  sail  along  the  coast 
we  stopped  to  see  the  place  where  the  American 
colony  was  to  be.  It  was  a lovely  spot.  The  first 
house  was  being  built.  The  owner  complained  bit- 
terly that  the  native  workmen  did  as  little  as  pos- 
sible, and  charged  twice  as  much  as  they  usually 
received  from  their  own  people. 

Further  down  the  coast  we  stopped  at  a planta- 
tion belonging  to  Senor  Angulo.  We  had  an  op- 
portunity to  see  immense  fields  of  garlic,  ginger, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  sago : from  this  last  article 
excellent  starch  is  made.  These  productions  are 
exported  principally  to  British  Honduras,  Island 
Mugeres,  and  Cuba ; a little  to  the  mainland,  par- 
ticularly to  Campeche:  boats  coming  from  the 
islands  seldom  touch  at  Progreso. 

Near  Mr.  Angulo’s  habitation  we  saw  a cave  only 
three  feet  high,  within  which  there  is  a square  room 
built  of  comparatively  large  stones,  and  having  ves- 
tiges of  colored  designs  on  the  outside.  In  this 
cave  we  found  the  frontal  bone  of  a skull.  Judging 
by  its  size,  one  would  take  it  to  be  that  of  a child  six 
years  old,  but  its  extreme  thickness  and  the  condition 
of  the  sutures,  show  that  it  was  that  of  an  adult. 


3 6 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

Leaving  the  plantation  we  continued  our  way 
along  the  coast,  seeking  an  entrance  to  a certain 
lake.  Night  overtook  us  before  we  found  it ; we 
therefore  hauled  our  boat  up  on  the  beach,  and 
sought  shelter  in  a fisherman’s  deserted  hut. 

Next  morning,  after  two  hours’  sailing,  we  found 
the  channel  by  which  we  were  to  reach  the  lake. 
The  boat  had  to  be  borne  across  the  beach  that 
there  forms  a sandbar,  over  which  flows  only  a 
few  inches  of  water,  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
This  was  about  five  yards  wide,  and  closed  over- 
head by  mangroves.  The  water  proved  to  be 
only  five  feet  deep,  and  with  a swift  current,  as  it 
was  low  tide,  coming  from  the  lake.  We  struggled 
forward  for  about  an  hour,  cutting  away  the  low 
boughs : as  in  that  time  we  had  only  advanced  a 
little  more  than  half  a mile,  the  idea  of  penetrating 
to  the  lake  was  abandoned.  We  therefore  backed 
out  of  the  channel  and  continued  along  the  coast 
till  we  came  to  a place  where  the  water  was  crystal- 
line and  shallow.  A number  of  large  conchs  lay  on 
the  sandy  bottom;  we  secured  some  and  went  ashore 
to  breakfast. 

The  conch-shell  is  exceedingly  hard,  but  large 
turtles,  that  abound  in  these  waters,  break  them  be- 
tween their  jaws  without  apparent  effort.  We 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL.  • 


37 

roasted  some  conchs,  but  found  they  were  much 
nicer  uncooked,  though  they  had  to  be  softened 
by  hammering  them  with  a stone. 

We  sailed  all  day,  and  toward  evening  saw  in  the 
distance  some  huts  that  we  decided  should  be  our 
hotel  that  night.  We  were  lured  on  by  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a massive  and  extensive  wall;  only 
after  landing  we  discovered  that  what  looked  like 
a magnificent  fortification  was  in  fact  millions  of 
shells,  principally  conchs,  that  formed  a high  per- 
pendicular bank.  There  was  also  a smaller  shelf 
composed  of  thousands  of  tons  of  dry  sponge  and 
seaweed  that  might  be  utilized  for  commercial 
purposes.  Near  by,  on  the  top  of  a rock,  was  a 
small  shrine  and  a stone  snake-head.  Afterward 
we  found  others  of  the  same  kind  at  intervals  along 
the  coast.  They  were  altars,  to  which  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest — according  to  the  historians — fish- 
ermen went  to  make  offerings  and  burn  copal  to 
their  divinities  of  the  sea. 

Heavy  clouds  warned  us  to  hasten  to  our  boat, 
and  sail  back  to  the  huts.  We  found  them  in  good 
condition,  and  some  dry  wood  close  by.  Happily 
the  rain  held  off  ; we,  therefore,  soon  had  a blazing 
fire,  and  supper,  consisting  of  coffee,  bread,  conchs, 
and  a heron,  whose  breast  was  even  a better  tidbit 


38  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

than  that  of  a young  parrot — which  is  saying  a good 
deal.  During  the  night  it  rained  in  torrents,  but 
under  shelter  of  the  sheds  we  were  not  disturbed 
by  it. 

Next  morning  we  sailed  to  the  end  of  the  island, 
or  as  near  as  possible ; it  is  an  iron-bound  coast 
that  would  afford  no  protection  to  any  shipwrecked 
crew.  We  went  back  a little  way,  and  hauled  our 
boat  up  on  the  beach  at  the  end  of  the  bay  where 
we  had  found  shelter  the  night  before.  Near  by 
there  were  turtle  tracks,  and  soon  we  had  trans- 
ported one  hundred  eggs  from  the  nest  to  our  boat. 

After  examining  the  country  around  we  launched 
the  boat.  When  it  was  necessary  to  put  it  on  the 
right  course  every  member  of  the  party  wanted  to 
be  captain  ; we  consequently  stranded  on  the  beach 
five  times  ; each  time  the  sails  had  to  be  lowered 
and  the  captains  to  get  into  the  surf  to  shove  off 
again.  When  tired  of  that  fun  the  command  was 
unanimously  given  to  Dr.  Le  Plongeon.  We  then 
succeeded  in  starting  homeward,  and  reached  San 
Miguel  village  just  in  time  to  escape  a tempest,  for 
on  entering  our  house  we  heard  a small  lizard  making 
a noise  in  a corner  of  the  roof;  half  an  hour  later 
a regular  “ norther  ” set  in.  This  lizard  is  small  and 
dark,  subsists  on  insects,  and  is  a veritable  living 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


39 

barometer.  It  has  a loud  voice  that  is  never  heard 
except  just  previous  to  bad  weather:  this  is  so 
well  authenticated  that,  even  if  the  weather  is 
fair,  no  sailor  will  venture  out  when  warned  by  that 
lizard. 

The  roaring  wind  and  heavy  rain  beating  on  the 
broad  leaves  of  the  banana-trees  around  the  house 
prevented  us  from  sleeping.  When  the  storm 
abated,  just  as  we  were  passing  into  dreamland, 
slumber  was  rudely  dispelled  by  violent  clanging  of 
the  church  bells.  A dozen  peaceable  citizens,  dis- 
turbed from  their  rest,  went  to  see  what  was  the 
matter.  They  found  an  old  woman  pulling  vigor- 
ously at  the  rope.  She  was  quite  demented  and 
refused  to  stop  her  music.  They  drove  her  home, 
which  so  provoked  her  that  in  the  morning  she  threw 
one  of  her  grandchildren  into  a well,  saying  “ it  must 
be  killed.”  The  child’s  father  being  at  hand,  it  was 
rescued  uninjured,  though  much  terrified. 

In  the  villages  throughout  Yucatan,  baptisms  and 
funerals  are  great  events,  a wake  being  regarded  as 
a mild  entertainment.  In  Cozumel  we  had  occasion 
to  see  one  of  those  friendly  gatherings. 

The  patient  was  a young  woman  who  had  lived 
alone.  Being  suddenly  stricken  down  in  a fit,  from 
wrhich  she  never  recovered,  a neighbor  had  taken 


40 


HERE  AATD  THERE  IH  YUCA  TAN, . 


her  in.  What  little  property  was  found  in  her 
home — fifty  dollars,  some  gold  ornaments,  and 
clothes — was  appropriated  by  the  same  kind  neigh- 
bor to  defray  expenses.  The  unconscious  woman 
was  placed  on  a camp-bed,  and  preparations  for  the 
wake  were  at  once  begun.  A demijohn  of  strong 
liquor  was  bought  with  the  money  of  the  patient, 
also  a lot  of  cake,  four  pounds  of  chocolate,  and 
plenty  of  black  wax  candles. 

Soon  the  room  was  full  of  men  and  women,  re- 
galing themselves  with  “drinks”  and  cigarettes. 
Young  girls  with  flowers  in  their  hair  and  powder 
on  their  faces  were  seated  around  the  room,  in  ex- 
pectation of  cake  and  chocolate.  On  one  table  there 
were  sundry  small  ornaments,  and  a wooden  cruci- 
fix before  which  burned  wax  candles.  On  another, 
a pitcher  of  water,  glasses,  cigars,  and  beneath  it, 
the  demijohn  of  rum. 

An  old  woman  came  in  ; the  hostess  offered  her  a 
cigar,  which  she  accepted,  saying:  “Thank  you, 
ma’am.  Have  you  got  her  chickens  ? ” 

“ Yes,”  replied  the  other;  “ they  are  all  in  the  coop. 
She  will  be  dead  presently,  and  they  will  be  killed 
for  this  good  company.” 

“ Yes,  yes,”  rejoined  the  dame,  lighting  her  cigar- 
ette; “ woe  to  us  ! what  are  we  in  this  world  ! ” 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


41 

The  wake  lasted  two  days  and  nights  ; by  the  time 
the  woman  really  expired,  her  money  was  all  gone. 
A grave  had  been  dug  the  day  she  fell  sick ; now 
she  was  carried  to  it  in  a deal  coffin.  The  priest 
was  not  called  to  utter  a prayer  over  the  corpse,  be- 
cause, said  they,  there  was  no  money  to  pay  him. 

That  affair  was  a nine  days’  scandal,  even  among 
those  simple-minded  people. 

One  Sunday  evening  we  received  a pressing  invi- 
tation to  the  house  of  Senor  Mendiburu,  the  Alcalde, 
whose  youngest  child  was  to  be  baptized.  We 
found  the  parlor  illuminated  with  three  or  four 
lamps,  several  women  seated  on  one  side  of  the 
room,  men  on  the  other.  Upon  a table  there  were 
goblets,  and  bottles  of  ale,  more  expensive  there 
than  the  best  Spanish  wine,  hence  preferred. 

The  baby  was  brought  from  the  bedroom  to  be 
taken  to  church  by  the  sponsors  and  the  male  guests, 
the  women  remaining  at  home  with  the  parents. 
On  their  return  the  infant  was  carried  back  to  the 
bedroom,  no  one  manifesting  the  least  interest  in  it. 

Sponsors  are  expected  to  offer  a gift  according  to 
their  means.  In  the  peninsula,  well-to-do  families 
scatter  silver  medios  among  those  who  follow  the 
procession  to  the  church.  The  guests  are  presented 
with  pretty  cards  that  have  a silver  or  gold  coin  at- 
tached to  them.  On  the  card  is  printed  the  name 


42 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


of  the  child,  the  date  of  its  birth,  and  a floral  design 
or  verses. 

Having  baptized  the  baby,  Cura  Rejon  came  to 
the  house  of  its  parents ; then  the  bottles  were 
opened,  the  host  himself  handing  glasses  of  ale  to 
the  ladies,  and  inviting  the  gentlemen  to  help  them- 
selves. He  expressed  much  regret  at  not  having  a 
band  of  music  as  intended — the  musicians  had  been 
called  to  Island  Mugeres — but  hoped  to  do  better 
next  time. 

It  was  remarkable  that  hardly  a word  was  uttered 
on  this  occasion — the  silence  was  almost  solemn ; 
whereas  at  the  wake  there  had  been  much  animated 
conversation.  Do  they  think  death  less  to  be  re- 
gretted than  birth  ? It  is  a fact  that  in  those  coun- 
tries anciently,  when  a child  was  born,  the  first  words 
addressed  to  it  were : “Alas  for  thee ! thou  hast 
come  to  this  world  to  suffer  and  weep.”  Looking 
upon  a corpse,  they  invariably  say : “At  rest ! to 
suffer  and  toil  no  more ! ” If  the  deceased  is  an  in- 
fant, they  wreathe  it  in  garlands,  exclaiming : “An- 
other little  angel ! ” 

Cura  Rejon  was  called  from  the  baptism  party  to 
a death-bed.  Bidding  us  good  night,  he  said  : “Ah 
yes  ! one  after  another  I lay  them  to  rest  as  they  fall 
like  autumn  leaves  around  me,  but  there  will  be  no 


BEAUTIFUL  COZUMEL. 


43 

one  to  minister  the  last  sacrament  to  poor  old  Father 
Rejon  when  his  time  comes.” 

At  three  o’clock  on  the  following  afternoon  the 
funeral  cortege  started.  The  cura,  dressed  in  his 
robes,  led  the  way.  On  his  right  walked  an  acolyth 
carrying  a vessel  of  holy  water ; on  his  left,  one  with 
a prayer-book.  They  were  followed  by  three  or  four 
amateur  musicians ; next,  six  men  bearing  the  cof- 
fin, black,  ornamented  with  white.  It  was  open,  the 
corpse,  dressed  in  black,  exposed.  A man  walked 
beside,  with  a table  on  his  head.  Men,  women,  and 
children,  some  mourners,  others  idlers,  brought  up 
the  rear.  The  men  were  bareheaded,  the  women 
wore  mantillas  as  at  church.  They  looked  sad,  but 
the  absence  of  a black  hearse,  and  other  funeral  para- 
phernalia, seemed  to  rid  death  of  half  its  horrors. 

The  followers  sang  a dirge.  At  each  corner  the 
procession  halted,  the  table  was  put  on  the  ground, 
and  the  coffin  placed  on  it.  The  priest,  with  his 
face  toward  the  deceased,  then  chanted  in  a sono- 
rous musical  voice,  the  people  responding.  The  sky 
was  black  with  an  approaching  storm,  the  thunder’s 
distant  peal  mingling  its  deep  tones  with  theirs,  like 
a note  from  the  grand  organ  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
After  each  prayer  the  priest  sprinkled  the  corpse 
with  holy  water.  Thus  they  slowly  wended  their 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


■44 

way  to  the  church.  At  the  door  the  prayers  were 
again  repeated ; the  body  was  then  carried  in,  the 
bell  tolling  while  the  funeral  service  was  performed. 

From  the  church  to  the  grave  the  coffin  was  at 
the  head  of  the  procession,  priest  and  mourners  fol- 
lowing with  the  musicians,  who  played  a slow  march. 

Before  lowering  the  coffin  into  the  earth,  the  lid 
was  nailed  on,  and  a bottle  of  rum  passed  round 
among  those  present — a parting  cup,  to  wish  the 
lamented  friend  godspeed  on  his  long  journey. 


THE  EVIL  EYE* 


E find  that  in  many  countries  there  has  been,. 


and  there  still  is,  more  or  less,  a belief  in 


the  evil  effect  of  certain  eyes.  The  malignant  power, 
supposed  to  exist,  is  not  said  to  be  due  to  any  par- 
ticular color,  size,  or  shape  of  the  visual  organ.  In 
fact  even  those  who  most  firmly  believe  in  it  do 
not  attribute  it  to  any  physical  peculiarity,  although 
Boguet  affirms  that  sorcerers  have  two  pupils  in 
one  of  their  eyes,  some  in  both  : they  mortally  be- 
witch those  they  look  at,  and  kill  them  if  they  keep 
their  eye  fixed  on  them. 

In  Italy  there  were  sorcerers  supposed  to  devour 
with  a.  glance  the  heart  of  a man.  The  Egyptians 
firmly  believed  in  the  Evil-Eye,  so  did  the  Grecians. 
In  Spain  there  were  people  much  feared  because 
their  eyes  could  distil  poison  into  those  .they  looked 
at.  One  Spaniard,  it  is  reported,  had  such  a pow- 
erfully bad  eye  that  he  could  shatter  every  pane  of 
glass  in  a window  just  by  staring  at  it.  Another 
was  employed  by  the  king  to  gaze  on  certain  crimi- 


* Published  in  “ Harper’s  Bazar.1 


4 6 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

nals  condemned  to  death,  for  that  sufficed  to  kill 
them. 

The  people  in  Scotland  also  have  a great  dread  of 
the  Evil-Eye,  believing  that  the  look  of  certain 
persons  produces  very  unfortunate  results,  such  as 
turning  milk  sour,  making  goats  barren,  etc.  At 
Plaudern,  near  Landerneau,  in  Brittany,  if  the  left 
eye  of  a corpse  does  not  close,  one  of  the  nearest 
relations  is  threatened  by  death. 

In  the  lovely  island  of  Cozumel  we  were  ac- 
quainted with  a good  old  priest  supposed  to  be  the 
unfortunate  possessor  of  an  Evil  Eye.  An  old  lady, 
a near  neighbor  of  his,  said  to  us,  in  a most  impres- 
sive manner,  “ When  the  Senor  Cura  admires  any- 
thing it  is  just  as  well  to  give  it  to  him  at  once,  for 
as  sure  as  you  keep  it  it  will  die.” 

Father  Rejon  was  quite  grieved  about  his  eye. 
He  often  said  to  us  : “I  have  done  all  the  good  in 
my  power  to  everybody,  never  refusing  to  serve  the 
poor  because  they  could  not  pay  me ; yet  I have  an 
Evil  Eye ; I do  not  know  how  it  happens.  One  day 
I walked  through  a yard  without  glancing  to  the 
right  or  to  the  left. — Almost  immediately  a woman 
came  running  after  me,  saying:  ‘Oh,  Senor  Cura, 
you  have  looked  at  my  pig,  and  it  has  just  dropped 
down  dead  ! You  must  pay  me  for  it ; it  is  worth 


THE  EVIL  EYE. 


4 7 

six  dollars.’  ‘What!’  I shouted.  ‘ Maldicion ! Go 

to ! I have  not  seen  the  infernal  pig,  and  you 

want  to  make  me  pay  for  it ! ’ You  see  it  was  enough 
to  make  a saint  swear,”  added  our  mild  old  friend. 

Then  he  told  us  another  case.  “ One  of  my  par- 
ishioners, who  had  a very  pretty  little  pig,  called  on 
me  one  day  and  said  : ‘ I wish  to  offer  my  pig  to 
Saint  Anthony;  you  will  please  celebrate  mass,  and 
the  pig  is  yours.’  At  four  o’clock  next  morning 
I said  the  mass,  and  leaving  the  pig  where  it  was, 
sent  corn  to  it  every  day.  When  the  pig  had 
eaten  more  than  a bushel  of  grain,  and  was  well 
fattened,  the  neighbor  paid  me  another  visit.  Said 
he  : ‘ Senor,  I will  pay  you  for  the  corn  used,  and 
for  the  mass,  as  also  for  a second  one  I wish  to  have 
celebrated  when  convenient  to  you,  but  I should 
like  to  keep  my  pig.’  Of  course  I had  no  objection, 
and  told  the  man  I was  perfectly  satisfied. 

“ Next  morning  when  I arrived  at  the  church  I 
found  a man  waiting  outside  the  door  with  two  dol- 
lars to  pay  for  the  masses.  Just  as  the  bells  were 
being  rung  the  owner  of  the  pig  rushed  up  to  me. 
‘ Oh,  Sefior  Cura,  the  pig  has  swollen  ; it  is  dy- 
ing ! ’ What  fault  had  I ? Well,  that  man  did  not 
pay  for  the  corn,  and  even  accepted  the  two  dollars 
that  I offered  to  return  to  him. 


48  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

“ On  another  occasion  I wanted  to  purchase  some 
fowls  from  an  old  woman  ; she  didn’t  care  to  part 
with  them.  I could  not  oblige  her,  nor  did  I wish 
to,  so  dismissed  the  matter  from  my  mind.  I chat- 
ted with  her  awhile,  then  took  my  leave ; before  I 
reached  the  garden-gate  the  fowls  fell  dead  in  the 
yard.  Then  the  woman  said  : ‘Ah,  sefior,  your  Evil 
Eye  has  killed  all  my  birds  ! Why  did  I not  sell 
them  to  you  ? ’ What  fault  had  I ? The  heat  of 
the  sun  must  have  killed  the  birds.” 

The  topic  was  so  evidently  painful  to  the  old  gen- 
tleman that  we  told  him  to  dismiss  it  from  his  mind,, 
and  join  us  in  a game  of  vialilla. 

A few  days  later  he  invited  us  to  go  and  examine 
a small  ancient  building,  about  a mile  from  the  vil- 
lage. It  was  ten  feet  high  outside ; the  interior 
divided  in  two  rooms,  each  nine  feet  long,  two  wide, 
and  six  in  height.  Three  doors  led  straight  through 
the  building,  one  in  each  outer  wall,  the  other  in 
the  middle ; they  were  twenty  inches  wide  and  three 
feet  high. 

From  one  of  the  outer  doorways  to  that  in  the 
division  wall  there  was  a pier  of  solid  masonry ; on 
either  side  of  it.  an  opening  led  under  the  room. 
Making  our  way  below  as  best  we  could,  we  found 
ourselves  surrounded  by  walls  made  of  hewn  stones. 


THE  E VIL  E YE. 


49 

each  measuring  three  feet,  by  twenty  inches,  by  ten 
inches. 

Much  lower  down  there  was  a senote  of  limpid 
water  that  we  did  not  try  to  reach,  the  descent  be- 
ing very  precipitous,  over  smooth  boulders.  In  that 
senote , fourteen  years  before,  Cura  Rejon  had  found 
a small  cantaro  (water-jug),  about  half  the  size  of 
those  now  used  by  the  natives.  He  kindly  gave  it 
to  me  ; it  is  now  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
in  Central  Park,  New  York. 

At  some  distance  we  saw  light,  reflected  on  the 
water,  evidently  from  an  opening  in  the  rocky  vault. 
After  searching  around  the  house  among  the  thick 
bushes,  we  found  it.  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  to  see  with- 
in, leaned  forward,  putting  his  hand  On  what  he  be- 
lieved was  a firm  tree-trunk  thrown  across  the  hole. 
The  Indian  who  stood  by  him  said  not  a word, 
though  the  Cura  afterwards  affirmed  that  he  must 
have  known  it  was  the  wild  palma  cristi , which  bears 
no  weight. 

The  Cura  and  I were  on  the  other  side  of  the 
cavity,  struggling  through  the  bushes  to  reach  the 
edge  of  it,  when  we  heard  a sound  like  dry  wood 
being  splintered,  followed  by  silence.  The  bushes 
prevented  us  from  seeing  anything,  and  the  Indian 

held  his  tongue.  When  we  reached  the  brink  Dr. 

4 


50  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

Le  Plongeon  was  making  his  way  out  of  the  pit. 
The  stupid  Indian  did  not  even  extend  his  hand  to 
help  him  up,  till  the  Cura  shouted  at  him.  The 
Doctor  had  fallen  about  fifteen  feet  upon  coral 
rocks,  and  was  very  glad  to  find  none  of  his  bones 
broken,  but  a little  stream  of  blood  immediately 
dyed  the  rock  on  which  he  had  fallen.  He  bound 
a handkerchief  tightly  around  his  head,  saw  that, 
in  effect,  the  water  of  the  senote  was  shimmering  in 
the  distance,  illuminated  from  the  hole  into  which 
he  had  fallen,  then  with  some  difficulty  made  his 
way  out. 

In  spite  of  the  handkerchief,  blood  was  running 
down  his  face.  Fortunately  we  had  a gourd;  I 
asked  the  Indian  to  go  under  the  small  house  to 
procure  water  from  the  senote.  He  said  it  was  very 
difficult  to  reach,  admitting,  when  urged,  that  he 
was  afraid  of  the  spirit  of  the  senote.  I therefore 
led  the  way,  the  man  following  unwillingly.  He 
was  very  tall,  but  it  seemed  that  I must  get  the 
water  myself.  In  hurrying  down  I narrowly  escaped 
drowning,  for  my  foot  slipped  and  I only  saved  my- 
self by  catching  at  a projecting  stone.  Had  I fallen 
I could  never  have  been  rescued  without  ropes. 
The  apathetic  Indian  afterwards  spoke  of  my  danger 
with  the  same  indifference  that  he  would  manifest 


THE  EVIL  EYE . 


51 

in  giving  an  account  of  a day’s  work.  Cura  Rejon 
told  him  he  ought  to  be  flogged. 

In  spite  of  all  my  efforts  I could  only  bring  the 
gourd  within  a few  inches  of  the  water;  still  that 
fellow  quietly  looked  at  me  risking  my  life,  until  I 
drew  my  revolver  and  compelled  him  to  fill  the 
gourd  : he  was  exceptionally  superstitious. 

Dr.  Le  Plongeon’s  forehead  was  cut  from  the  top 
to  the  extremity  of  the  eye-brow,  disclosing  the 
bone.  We  bathed  it  and  bound  it  tight  in  a moist 
handkerchief,  to  check  the  flow  of  blood. 

Father  Rejon  was  quite  upset,  and  insisted  that  it 
was  all  due  to  his  Evil  Eye  ! that  he  would  give  him- 
self up  to  the  authorities  as  soon  as  he  reached  the 
village.  We  had  difficulty  in  dissuading  him  from 
so  doing. 

Under  a scorching  sun  we  walked  back  to  our 
thatched  cottage.  Then  I had  to  play  at  surgeon. 
Certainly  the  patient  was  much  to  be  pitied  in  my 
hands  ; nor  did  I like  the  business.  It  was  a jagged 
wound ; bled  for  six  hours,  in  spite  of  perchloride 
of  iron,  and  refused  to  close  by  first  intention.  After 
a new  skin  had  formed,  I had  to  cut  it  to  extract 
splinters  that  worked  their  way  to  the  surface, 
though  we  believed  they  had  all  been  washed  out. 

Cura  Rejon,  who  said  he  would  never  forgive  him- 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


52 

self  for  having  taken  us  to  the  senote,  one  day 
brought  a very  peculiar  leaf  to  put  on  the  wound.  It 
is  thick  and  pear-shaped.  On  one  side  there  is  a 
thin  skin  that,  being  peeled  off,  discloses  a resinous 
substance  which  causes  the  leaf  to  adhere  to  the  skin, 
drawing  the  lips  of  any  wound  together  in  a very 
short  time.  It  irritates  the  nerves,  for  at  the  end  of 
a quarter  of  an  hour,  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  had  tooth- 
ache, and  a pain  under  his  tongue. 

The  accident  at  the  senote  was  added  to  the  list 
of  evils  the  worthy  village  priest  attributed  to  his 
unfortunate  eye. 


PYGMIES,  REAL  AND  FICTITIOUS* 


IN  almost  every  country  pygmies  figure  either  in 
history  or  tradition.  Tradition  always  has  some 
foundation  ; man  only  weaves  fiction  from  facts,  and 
the  best  novelists  are  close  observers  of  human 
nature.  How  many  things  long  regarded  as  fables 
have  been  proved  true ! Herodotus,  the  father  of 
history,  who  lived  B.C.  484  years,  was  once  called 
the  father  of  lies,  yet  many  of  the  stories  told  by 
him  have  been  proved  correct.  Marco  Polo,  who  in 
1274  went  with  his  father  to  Tartary,  China,  different 
parts  of  India,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor,  though  an 
illustrious  traveler  and  writer,  was  considered  very 
untruthful:  nevertheless  the  more  we  learn  of  those 
countries,  the  more  accurate  his  accounts  appear. 

The  stories  of  the  “little  people,”  fairies,  sprites, 
and  elves,  must  have  originated  from  the  existence  of 
an  extremely  diminutive  race,  a vague  recollection  of 
which  has  passed  from  generation  to  generation. 
Fable  makes  the  pygmies  two  feet  high.  The  Greeks, 
having  known  of  giants,  as  if  to  make  a contrast,  pic- 


* Published  in  “ Scientific  American.' 


54 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


tured  to  themselves  these  pygmies,  getting  the  idea 
from  certain  inhabitants  of  Ethiopia,  called  Pechi- 
nies,  who  were  very  small ; perhaps  the  ancestors  of 
the  Dokos  of  the  present  day.  Swift  made  Gulli- 
ver find  men  six  inches  high  in  the  Isle  of  Lilli- 
put  ; but  Cyrano  de  Bergerac,  in  his  imaginary  voy- 
age to  the  sun,  found  people  not  bigger  than  his 
thumb. 

Among  the  many  ludicrous  stories  told  of  pyg- 
mies, is  that  of  a certain  King  of  Bavaria,  who,  at  his 
wedding-feast,  was  served  with  a pie  from  which  a 
tiny  dwarf,  armed  with  lance  and  sword,  jumped  out 
on  to  the  table,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  all  the 
guests. 

Apart  from  such  extravagant  tales,  there  are  proofs 
that  very  dwarfish  people  have  lived  and  do  live,  in 
different  places.  Some  years  ago,  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Merrimac,  twenty  miles  from  the  Isle  of 
St.  Louis,  a number  of  stone  tombs  were  found 
arranged  in  symmetrical  order ; none  of  them  were 
more  than  four  feet  long,  and  the  human  skeletons 
within  them  only  measured  three  feet,  though  the 
teeth  showed  that  they  were  adults  ; the  skulls  were 
out  of  proportion  with  the  rest  of  the  body. 

Aristotle,  who  was  a great  naturalist,  said  that 
trustworthy  witnesses  testified  to  the  existence  of 


PYGMIES,  REAL  AND  FICTITIOUS. 


55 


minute  men  ; that  they  lived  in  caves  washed  by 
the  waters  of  the  Nile.  Pliny  even  gives  various 
details  regarding  their  habits,  and  the  geographical 
position  of  the  places  where  they  dwelt.  On  the 
banks  of  the  upper  Nile,  where  the  Greeks  located 
the  pygmies,  modem  travelers  have  found  whole 
tribes  of  dwarfish  men. 

In  Russia  and  Turkey,  until  quite  lately,  great 
sympathy  was  felt  for  dwarfs,  they  being  generally 
considered  keen-witted  and  often  talented.  In 
Germany,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  a dwarf  was 
regarded  as  a necessary  appendage  to  every  noble 
family.  In  this  present  century  there  have  been 
isolated  cases  of  extremely  small  people,  as,  for  in- 
stance, Richebourg,  who  died  in  Paris  in  1858  at  the 
age  of  ninety ; he  was  twenty-three  inches  high. 
During  the  revolutionary  period  he  is  said  to 
have  passed  in  and  out  of  Paris,  as  an  infant  in  the 
arms  of  a nurse,  with  dispatches  very  dangerous  to 
carry,  wrapped  in  his  baby  clothes. 

In  Mexico,  especially  in  the  State  of  Yucatan, 
and  adjacent  islands,  there  are  many  stories  current 
about  dwarfs.  If  the  natives  are  questioned  con- 
cerning the  builders  of  the  old  ruined  edifices  found 
in  those  parts,  they  invariably  say,  “The  Aluxob 
(pygmies)  built  them.”  In  the  islands  of  Cozumel 


56  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

and  Mugeres  there  is  a firmly  rooted  belief  that 
“little  people”  wander  around  at  night;  many 
solemnly  protest  that  they  see  them,  and  accuse 
them  of  disturbing  their  slumbers  by  hammering 
on  benches  and  shaking  their  hammocks. 

On  the  east  coast  of  Yucatan  there  are  various 
places,  such  as  Nisucte  and  Meco,  that  any  traveler 
may  visit,  though  he  must  go  armed,  and  keep  a sharp 
look-out  for  Indians,  who  may  fall  upon  him  at  any 
minute.  There  can  be  seen  vestiges  of  ancient  cities, 
all  the  houses  made  of  stone,  but  not  large  enough 
for  people  more  than  three  or  three  and  a half  feet 
high  to  occupy  with  any  comfort. 

In  Cozumel  Island  there  exist  well-constructed 
triumphal  arches  only  nine  feet  high ; sanctuaries, 
and  temples  of  worship,  built  of  carefully  hewn 
stones ; the  doorway  of  the  largest  three  feet  high, 
one  foot  six  inches  wide.  The  entire  building  meas- 
ures, outside,  but  nine  feet  in  height,  fourteen  in 
length,  and  twelve  in  depth.  The  Indian  who  ac- 
companied us  to  them  affirmed  that  he  always  saw 
the  “ little  people”  at  night,  but  they  never  spoke  to 
him.  He  said  : “ They  are  very  small,  and  wear  big 
hats.  Once,  at  the  entrance  of  a cave  in  the  forest, 
I found  a clay  figure.  It  was  an  enchanted  dwarf, 
and  he  was  reading  a book.  I picked  it  up  to 


PYGMIES , REAL  AND  FICTITIOUS. 


57 


carry  it  home,  then  felt  afraid  and  put  it  down 
again.  Next  day  I returned  to  look  for  it,  because 
I wanted  to  have  the  alux  (dwarf),  but  could  not  find 
the  place  again.” 

It  is  affirmed  that  very  diminutive  people  still 
dwell  among  the  hills  in  Honduras  and  Guatemala; 
but  no  one  seems  able  to  say  exactly  where.  This 
would  lead  to  the  belief  that  if  there  are  any  still 
living,  as  so  many  assert,  they  must  be  very  few,  and 
successful  in  hiding.  Nevertheless,  it  is  related  that 
one  day,  in  the  year  1825,  woodcutters,  wander- 
ing along  the  banks  of  the  Moho  river,  British  Hon- 
duras, in  search  of  mahogany  trees,  were  startled, 
upon  reaching  a place  called  Meditation  Fall,  by  a 
strange  little  being  that  suddenly  emerged  from  the 
bush,  stared  wildly  at  them,  and  fled. 

The  men  pursued,  overtook,  and  brought  the  odd 
creature  to  their  camp.  It  was  a dark-skinned  girl, 
about  eighteen  years  old,  not  quite  three  feet  high. 
She  had  no  other  covering  than  her  hair — thick,  black 
tresses  that  reached  to  her  feet,  nearly  covering 
her.  She  was  very  wild,  but  not  stupid.  Find- 
ing that  they  did  not  harm  her,  she  talked  to  the 
wood-cutters  in  the  Maya  tongue,  which  they  also 
spoke,  that  being  the  language  of  the  Indians  in 
those  parts. 


58  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

As  the  weather  was  cool  one  of  the  men  gave 
her  a red  flannel  shirt,  which  clothed  her  from  head 
to  foot.  Fora  day  or  two  she  refused  to  eat,  but 
afterwards  seemed  contented.  She  said  all  her 
people  were  the  same  size  as  herself;  that  they 
were  then  living  near  Meditation  Fall,  where  they 
had  a cornfield,  though  generally  they  dwelt  three 
or  four  miles  away  in  a deep  valley. 

When  she  had  been  in  the  camp  about  ten  days, 
some  of  the  men  proposed  to  go  and  see  her  people. 
She  manifested  delight,  and  offered  to  guide  them 
to  the  spot.  Reaching  the  place  where  they  first 
met  her,  she  led  them  into  the  forest.  Soon  she 
motioned  to  them  to  stop  and  be  silent.  A hub- 
bub of  voices  reached  their  ears  ; the  girl  whispered 
to  them  that  she  would  go  and  announce  their  com- 
ing, otherwise  her  folks  would  be  afraid,  run  off, 
and  hide  on  hearing  footsteps.  Away  she  darted ; 
and  soon  all  was  hushed  as  death. 

The  men  waited  patiently;  their  diminutive  guide 
did  not  return.  Convinced  that  she  had  very  cun- 
ningly eluded  them,  they  went  forward,  and  in  two 
minutes  found  themselves  in  a cornfield.  There 
were  embers  in  three  or  four  places,  and  small  piles 
of  corn  prepared  for  transportation.  The  ground 
had  been  much  trodden,  but  there  was  no  living 


PYGMIES , REAL  AND  FICTITIOUS. 


59 

creature  in  sight.  They  searched  in  vain,  even 
among  the  boulders,  and  remained  some  time  in  the 
field,  hoping  that  the  owners  would  return  for  their 
corn.  They,  however,  never  saw  the  girl  again,  nor 
any  of  her  kin. 

One  of  those  very  woodsmen  gave  us  this  account. 
Similar  stories  have  been  told  by  others  ; they  might 
all  be  doubted  were  it  not  for  the  ruins  of  diminu- 
tive houses  that  bear  witness  to  their  having  once 
existed. 


TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES* 


AVING  waited  long  for  an  opportunity  to 


leave  Cozumel  Island  for  British  Honduras, 


we  decided  to  go  on  the  Triunfo  notwithstanding 
its  uninviting  appearance.  It  was  a twelve-ton 
schooner,  badly  in  need  of  paint ; as  for  order,  the 
limited  space  made  that  impossible.  The  captain, 
called  Antonio,  was  as  unclean  a specimen  of  the 
Spanish  sailor  as  we  have  ever  had  the  misfortune 
to  see.  The  mate  was  “Antonio  the  Second,”  to 
distinguish  him  from  his  superior;  black  “Jim”  was 
cook  and  general  assistant;  a man  named  Trejo 
serving  as  pilot.  There  was  no  compass  on  board. 
Such  a thing  can  rarely  be  found  on  those  coasting 
vessels. 

There  were  four  passengers  besides  ourselves,  all 
of  us  having  plenty  of  luggage.  Add  to  this  twenty- 
five  enormous  turtles  ; some  on  deck,  some  below  ; 
a large  party  of  hens ; two  big  cages  full  of  doves  ; 
another  of  canaries  ; a spoiled  lapdog;  cat  and  kit- 
tens ; two  goats ; and  a colony  of  cockroaches  of  the 


* Published  in  “New  York  Tribune.” 


TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES.  6r 

largest  species.  There  was  not  a square  inch  to. 
spare. 

The  cabin  was  occupied  by  live  turtles,  they  being 
considered  the  most  valuable  passengers : these  un- 
fortunate creatures  were  on  their  backs,  their  flaps 
sown  together.  They  evidently  suffered,  stretching 
their  necks  to  gasp  for  breath,  making  most  dismal 
sounds  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  fill  their  lungs,  and 
drawing  their  heads  back  into  their  shells  at  the: 
approach  of  any  one.  To  keep  them  alive  water 
was  dashed  over  them  once  a day,  which  favor 
they  did  not  seem  to  appreciate  as  much  as  they 
might  have  done  had  the  water  been  thrown  on 
their  backs. 

We  more  than  suspected  that  there  was  a consid- 
erable amount  of  “contraband  ” on  board  ; were  also, 
well  aware  that  the  coast-guard  was  cruising  about 
on  the  look-out  for  just  such  vessels  as  the  Triunfo  ; 
consequently  the  grim  face  of  the  captain  did  not 
often  relax  into  a smile.  He  betrayed  his  anxiety 
by  asking  for  the  loan  of  our  field-glasses  very  fre- 
quently, rather  to  our  annoyance,  for  there  was  much 
that  interested  us  to  be  seen  on  the  coast.  In  return 
for  the  use  of  the  glass  Antonio  gave  us  some  infor- 
mation. Among  other  things  he  said  that  all  along 
the  coast  there  is  a fine  variety  of  excellent  shellfish  £ 


62  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

that  one  crab,  called  the  “ soldier,”  also  known  as 
“ hermit,”  possesses  remarkable  curative  properties. 
Simply  boiled  and  eaten  every  day,  it  cures  nervous 
diseases  and  consumption;  while  a certain  oil  ex- 
tracted from  it  is  an  infallible  remedy  for  palsy  and 
other  ills.  Of  course  ! During  our  brief  stay  at 
Nizucte  we  saw  a man  cook,  and  eat  with  great  rel- 
ish, a few  “ hermits.”  He  was  poisoned  by  them, 
and  came  within  an  inch  of  losing  his  life. 

One  of  the  Indian  villages  along  the  coast  is  called 
Tancah;  shortly  after  the  occasion  I write  about  our 
Ark  of  the  Carribean  went  down  near  there.  A 
French  bark,  bound  for  Vera  Cruz,  stranded  near 
the  village ; it  was  believed  that  the  Indians  killed 
those  on  board,  and  sent  the  bodies  adrift,  for  they 
floated  down  the  Gulf  Stream  to  Cozumel.  The 
Indians  took  possession  of  the  bark. 

On  this  coast,  as  in  many  other  countries,  the  wreck 
of  a vessel  is  considered  a godsend,  the  inhabitants 
thinking  they  have  a right  to  kill  the  crew  and  take 
possession  of  the  ship  and  its  contents.  The  people 
of  Tancah  and  another  village  called  Tulum  have  no 
boats;  so  at  low  tide  they  made  fast  a rope  to  the 
vessel,  and  used  it  to  go  back  and  forth,  landing  as 
much  of  the  cargo  as  they  could.  Craving  for  liquor, 
as  always,  they  went  down  into  the  hold,  where 


TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES.  63 

some  remained  drinking  till  unable  to  move,  being 
consequently  drowned  at  flood-tide. 

The  inhabitants  of  San  Pedro,  a fishing  settlement 
on  the  Island  of  Ambergris,  at  the  south  end  of 
Yucatan,  heard  of  the  wreck.  They  are  half  pirates, 
and  at  once  started  off  for  a share  of  the  spoils. 
The  Indians,  always  hostile  to  strangers,  received 
them  with  bullets ; they  could  not  reach  the  ship. 
When  the  Indians  abandoned  it,  leaving  in  it  what 
they  could  not  carry,  they  retired  from  the  beach. 
The  people  of  San  Pedro  and  Island  Mugeres  had 
been  keeping  a sharp  look-out ; they  now  came  for 
the  rest  of  the  cargo. 

They  were  not  molested,  and  found  costly  dry 
goods  and  other  valuable  articles,  also  casks  of  fine 
wine  and  vinegar.  In  the  hold  there  were  many 
dead  Indians. 

Having  loaded  their  boats  they  were  about  to 
start  for  home,  when  they  saw  that  a storm  was  at 
hand.  The  captains  decided  that  it  would  not  do  to 
venture  out  to  sea  until  it  passed  over.  Joaquin 
Carballo,  owner  of  the  Triunfo,  said  he  was  more 
afraid  of  the  Indians  who  might  arrive,  than  of  the 
storm.  Contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  companions 
he  put  to  sea,  and  was  never  heard  of  again. 

Three  miles  north  of  Tancah,  at  a place  called 


64  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

Tulum  (castle),  a grand  old  castle  towers  on  the 
brink  of  a precipitous  cliff  against  which  the  waves 
dash  with  fury.  It  serves  as  a good  landmark  to 
mariners,  being  the  highest  point  along  the  coast. 
That  spot  also  presents  the  wildest  scenery  in  the 
country,  its  iron-bound  coast  reminding  us  of  the 
south  end  of  Cozumel,  though  much  grander  and 
more  wild. 

The  ancient  city  was  surrounded  on  three  sides  by 
a wall  that  had  watch-towers  at  the  corners.  There 
are  two  gateways  in  the  north  and  south  walls  ; one 
in  the  east.  This  fortification  was  composed  of 
rough,  flat  stones,  laid  upon  each  other  without  mor- 
tar or  cement,  and  varied  in  thickness  between  seven 
and  twelve  feet.  The  high  precipitous  cliff  forms  a 
sea  wall,  1,500  feet  long,  on  the  east  side.  The 
Spanish  historians  inform  us  that  among  the  Mayas 
the  Ruler  and  his  nobles  had  their  dwellings  all  in- 
closed by  a great  wall  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  the 
rest  of  the  people  living  outside.  From  their 
works  we  also  learn  that  when  the  conquerors, 
under  command  of  Captain  Grijalva,  crossed 
from  Cozumel,  they  saw,  toward  sunset,  a burg  so 
large  that  “ Seville  would  not  have  appeared  bet- 
ter.” There  was  a very  lofty  tower,  and  on  the 
shore  a crowd  of  natives,  bearing  standards  that 


TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES.  65 

they  raised  and  lowered,  to  invite  the  travelers  to 
join  them. 

Within  the  great  wall  of  Tulum,  which  has  a cir- 
cuit of  2,800  feet,  we  yet  see  several  buildings,  that 
were  at  one  time  decorated  with  beautiful  stucco 
ornaments  and  fresco  paintings. 

The  grand  old  castle,  including  a wing  on  each 
side,  measures  at  the  base  one  hundred  feet  in  length. 
The  entrance  faces  inland,  and  is  reached  by  a stair- 
way thirty  feet  wide,  with  twenty-four  steps.  On 
each  side  it  has  a broad  balustrade. 

There  are  two  rooms,  twenty-six  feet  in  length ; 
low  stone  benches  run  along  the  walls,  on  which 
are  seen  imprints  of  the  red  hand. 

The  east  wall  has  no  opening,  except  small  oblong 
holes  for  ventilation. 

The  wings  are  buildings  of  two  stories,  both  to- 
gether being  much  lower  than  the  main  structure. 
The  stairs  leading  to  the  second  floor  are  outside. 

A peculiar  feature  in  the  edifices  of  Tulum  is  that 
some  had  flat  ceilings,  not  found  elsewhere  in  the 
peninsula. 

Three  miles  from  the  ancient  city  is  a new  village, 
Tulum  Pueblo,  whose  inhabitants  come  regularly  to 
the  old  castle  to  burn  copal,  incense,  and  wax  can- 
dles ; and  practise  rites  of  the  religion  of  their  fore- 
5 


66  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

fathers.  These  people  are  ruled  by  a queen,  named 
Maria  Uicab.  It  is  as  much  as  one’s  life  is  worth  to 
land  at  Tulum  ; the  natives  being  very  hostile,  make 
it  necessary  to  be  always  on  the  alert  and  ready  to 
take  to  the  boat  or  fight. 

At  dusk  the  captain  of  our  craft  ordered  Antonio 
the  Second  to  tell  “Jim,”  the  cook,  to  make  a clear- 
ing on  deck  so  that  the  passengers  could  lie  down. 
With  difficulty  room  was  made  for  four  or  five. 
Two  individuals  from  Spanish  Honduras  at  once 
carefully  monopolized  it  all  by  spreading  a huge 
mattress  for  their  own  particular  benefit,  while  we 
had  to  sit  upright  in  the  small  space  left. 

As  we  were  skirting  the  edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream, 
about  midnight,  waves  washed  over  the  deck.  The 
Honduras  people  and  their  dog  were  not  disturbed 
by  it,  being  under  a large  sheet  of  oilcloth  lined 
with  blankets.  We  went  down  into  the  little  hole 
called  cabin,  to  find  that  the  turtles  did  not  leave 
room  for  more  than  one  person.  The  atmosphere  was 
sickening,  but  having  a severe  cold  I remained  be- 
low, sitting  on  the  floor  among  the  turtles,  keeping 
out  of  reach  of  their  horny  bills,  lest  they  should 
visit  their  just  wrath  on  my  innocent  head. 

After  a while,  insensibly  to  myself,  one  of  my  fel- 
low sufferers  was  utilized  as  a pillow.  I was  aroused 


TEA  VELING  WITH  TURTLES.  67 

by  members  of  the  cockroach  colony  that  seemed  to 
have  selected  me  as  a site  to  hold  a mass  meeting. 
From  a second  troubled  doze  upon  my  turtle  pillow 
I was  awakened  by  a shout  and,  going  to  the  foot 
of  the  scuttle,  saw  my  husband  holding  the  tiller, 
giving  orders  in  not  sweet  Spanish.  His  attention 
had  been  attracted  by  a strange  sound;  peering 
through  the  darkness  he  saw  that  the  boat  was  sail- 
ing straight  toward  breakers,  but  a few  yards  ahead. 
A glance  showed  him  that  the  man  at  the  helm  was 
sound  asleep;  he  pushed  him  aside  and  veered  the 
boat. 

Not  even  a star  glimmered  overhead;  we  therefore 
went  back  about  half  a mile  and  hove  to  till  morn- 
ing. Daylight  showed  that  we  were  entirely  out  of 
our  course,  and  had  been  close  upon  the  reefs  at  the 
entrance  of  Ascension  Bay,  where  the  water  is  very 
deep  and  alive  with  sharks. 

Ascension  Bay  is  eight  miles  wide  at  the  mouth, 
eleven  miles  in  its  broadest  part,  north  and  south, 
thirteen  miles  east  and  west.  The  greatest  depth  of 
water  is  eleven  feet.  Across  the  entrance  there  is 
a sandbar  where  the  water  is  but  six  feet  deep. 

Only  fishermen  now  approach  this  bay  to  stay 
for  a few  days  at  a time,  on  a cay  called  Culebra, 
or  Snake,  at  the  entrance,  because  all  the  territory 


68  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN 

around  is  in  possession  of  hostile  Indians;  though 
they  do  not  often  go  there,  even  to  cut  the  excellent 
logwood  that  grows  so  abundantly.  Some  years  ago 
much  ambergris  was  also  found  in  the  bay;  the 
largest  piece  discovered  there  weighed  eight  pounds 
two  ounces.  It  was  sold  for  $270  in  the  city  of 
Valladolid,  Yucatan. 

Behind  the  reefs,  about  a mile  from  the  entrance 
of  the  bay,  there  is  a good  anchorage  where  large 
vessels  can  safely  anchor  in  from  eighteen  to  twenty- 
three  feet  of  water. 

On  the  third  day  out  we  reached  the  Island  of 
Ambergris,  and  stopped  at  San  Pedro,  a picturesque 
fishing  village,  surrounded  by  groves  of  cocoanut 
palms. 

Here,  our  suspicions  of  there  being  contraband 
on  board  were  verified,  for  at  dusk  about  20,000 
cigars  were  slyly  put  into  a small  dory,  and  taken 
ashore  with  many  precautions,  to  be  afterwards  con- 
veyed to  Belize  on  fishermen’s  boats. 

There  was  no  lodging  for  us  in  the  village ; we 
therefore  passed  a horrible  night  on  deck,  lying  on 
coiled  ropes  and  sails,  a thick  mist  falling  upon  us 

Soon  after  sunrise  we  started,  but  were  almost 
becalmed  for  several  hours,  so  did  not  sight  the  city 
of  Belize,  thirty-five  miles  from  San  Pedro,  till  four 


TRAVELING  WITH  TURTLES.  69 

o’clock  in  the  afternoon.  As  we  neared  the  harbor, 
our  pilot  succeeded  in  running  us  on  to  mud  banks 
three  times.  On  the  third  we  might  have  remained 
all  night,  had  not  a “ colored  lady  and  gentleman,” 
sailing  their  own  small  boat,  come  to  our  assistance. 

The  man  got  on  board  the  Triunfo  and  helped 
us  into  deeper  water,  for  which  we  were  duly  grate- 
ful. He  accepted  from  the  captain  some  Cozumel 
cigars.  At  dusk  we  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of 
Belize,  capital  of  British  Honduras. 

We  were  urgently  requested  by  Antonio  the 
First  to  defer  landing  until  after  dark,  because  they 
wanted  to  smuggle  in  a few  thousand  cigars  that 
were  still  on  board,  and  several  demijohns  of  Ha- 
vana rum.  At  nine  o’clock  we  were  put  ashore  on 
a lonely  wharf,  with  only  the  stars  to  guide  our 
footsteps,  and  tendered  hospitality  for  the  night  at 
the  house  of  the  man  who  owned  the  cigars,  a 
tobacconist  established  in  the  city. 


THE  CARIBS.* 


HEN  in  Belize,  we  had  opportunities  of 


learning  something  about  the  interesting 


people  called  Caribs  or  Caras,  a word  meaning  brave 
man.  They  are  supposed  to  have  existed  as  a pow- 
erful race  in  prehistoric  times,  and  to  have  spread 
over  many  parts  of  the  globe,  their  name  varying  a 
little  in  each  place.  They  themselves  say  they  came 
from  the  North;  some  traditions  found  among  them 
make  the  plains  of  Florida  their  cradle.  They  were 
in  a complete  state  of  decadence  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  America;  yet  heritage  was  still  care- 
fully regarded  in  the  reigning  family,  great  respect 
being  shown  to  the  princes  and  to  their  religious 
tenets.  They  were  obedient  to  their  laws,  and 
clung  tenaciously  to  ancient  customs. 

The  Caribs  in  British  Honduras  go  to  the  city  of 
Belize  to  sell  yams  and  a kind  of  bread  called  cazave, 
made  from  the  yuca  plant.  This  bread  is  in  the 
form  of  large,  thin,  crisp  cakes,  and  is  almost  taste- 
less. 


* Published  in  “New  York  Tribune.” 


AMONG  THE  CARIES . 


7 1 


In  a crowd  these  strange  people  at  once  attract 
attention  by  their  peculiar  language.  It  sounds  like 
the  following  syllables  constantly  repeated  with 
great  rapidity — gloo-ga  log-boo-ga-loog.  Strange  to 
say  they  use  the  French  numerals  up  to  ten,  though 
French  is  hardly  spoken  in  British  Honduras.  It 
sounds  odd  to  hear  un , deu%,  trois , quatre  mingled 
with  their  gloo-gloo  talk.  The  reason  of  it  is  that  those 
particular  Caribs  come  from  Saint  Vincent,  once  a 
French  colony,  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  women  dress  in  skirts,  but  have  no  jacket 
over  their  low-necked  undergarment.  They  twist  a 
gaudy  striped  kerchief  round  their  heads  as  a turban, 
and  wear  all  the  ornaments  they  can  obtain,  a favo- 
rite necklace  being  a string  of  gold  or  silver  coin. 
They  are  not  accustomed  to  eat  with  their  husbands, 
or  associate  with  them  as  companions.  Tradition 
has  it  that  Carib  men  captured  these  women  from 
another  tribe  and  made  them  their  wives;  the  women 
then  swore  that  they  would  never  be  their  compan- 
ions, though  compelled  to  serve  them. 

It  was  rumored  that  Caribs  dwelling  at  Stan  Creek, 
a settlement  not  far  from  Belize,  every  year  made 
human  sacrifice.  The  late  Sir  Frederick  Barlee,  at 
that  time  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  colony,  made 
inquiries  to  put  a stop  to  it  if  possible,  Stan  Creek 


72 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


being  within  his  jurisdiction.  The  accounts  were, 
however,  rather  conflicting.  It  seems  that  once  a 
year  fifteen  or  sixteen  Caribs,  accompanied  by  their 
wives,  retire  to  an  empty,  well-cleaned  house  away 
in  the  woods.  They  go  in  procession  to  the  beating 
of  a drum,  taking  with  them  one  male  child  five  or 
six  years  old,  whose  mother  is  compelled  to  remain 
in  the  village.  They  allow  no  one  to  follow  them, 
beyond  their  number ; and  when  asked  to  give  an 
account  of  their  proceedings  say : “ After  we  shut 
ourselves  in  the  house,  we  light  a big  fire  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor  (the  earth  serves  as  floor),  and 
stand  round  it.  Then  we  lie  down  with  our  faces  to 
the  ground,  leaving  the  child  standing  in  our  midst 
(where  the  fire  is).  When  we  look  up  the  boy  has 
disappeared — he  is  carried  away  by  Mafia.” 

They  return  to  the  village  without  the  child;  it  is 
never  again  seen  or  heard  of.  When  urged  to  say 
what  they  have  done  with  it,  they  reply  that  they 
have  given  it  to  Mafia  to  educate.  Every  year  one 
child  disappears  in  that  way,  no  one  being  able  to 
discover  what  they  really  do  with  it,  because,  when 
in  the  great  hut  where  they  perform  their  mysterious 
rite,  they  take  every  precaution  to  prevent  one  from 
peeping  in.  Some  assert  that  no  boy  is  sacrificed, 
though  they  do  worship  an  invisible  being  that  they 


AMONG  THE  C. A RIBS. 


7 3 

regard  as  an  evil  power;  yet  they  make  nothing  to 
represent  it,  and  worship  no  good  being. 

When  we  ourselves  questioned  a Carib  about  the 
terrible  Mafia,  he  said  it  was  the  Devil,  (that  was 
why  they  worshiped  him;  not  God,  for  God  was 
good.  “ Mafia/'  said  he,  “always  carries  away  the  boy 
that  is  offered  to  him.”  We  asked  if  he  thought  the 
Devil  ate  the  boy,  desiring  to  find  out  whether  they 
practiced  a little  cannibalism;  but  his  very  prudent 
answer  was,  “ Maybe.”  Nevertheless,  among  the 
mountains  of  Guatemala,  where,  even  a few  years 
ago,  the  true  Caribs  could  be  found,  they  from  time 
to  time  indulged  in  eating  a young  child  or  old  per- 
son; more  by  way  of  a sacrifice  than  to  gratify  their 
appetites.  The  Caribs  in  Guatemala  were  almost 
white,  those  in  British  Honduras  are  very  dark. 

They  also  have  a dance  called  “ Mafia’s  dance,”  in 
which  they  make  a maiden  as  intoxicated  as  possi- 
ble, undress  her,  then  form  a circle  round  her  and 
dance,  performing  all  sorts  of  silly  antics;  a banquet 
being  spread  in  an  adjoining  room  for  the  benefit 
of  Mafia.  The  authorities  at  Stan  Creek  forbade 
the  dance;  which  order  only  resulted  in  the  Caribs 
going  further  away  to  accomplish  it. 

They  are  polygamists,  may  have  as  many  wives 
as  they  can  build  houses  for;  because  each  must  have 


74 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


a separate  home.  When  a man  desires  to  make  any 
woman  his  wife  he  proposes  to  her,  and,  if  she 
accepts  him,  clears  a patch  of  ground;  builds  a hut; 
plants  banana  trees;  then  takes  her  there.  They 
have  no  marriage  ceremony  of  their  own;  occasion- 
ally a Carib  is  now  married  to  his  first  wife  by  the 
Catholic  priest. 

The  women  do  all  the  work,  even  cultivating  the 
ground.  They  have  to  provide  for  themselves  and 
their  children,  as  well  as  for  the  husband  when  he 
visits  them.  If  a woman  ventures  to  marry  one  who 
is  not  a Carib,  she  is  liable  to  be  tied  to  a post, 
naked,  and  whipped  by  any  one  who  chooses  to  in- 
flict the  penalty  on  her.  If  a man  among  them 
leaves  his  people  when  a child,  he  must  return 
within  a certain  period  and  build  a house,  or  be 
thenceforth  an  outcast.  A boy,  who  had  been  taken 
into  a white  family,  when  asked  if  he  would  not  like 
to  go  back  to  his  people,  said:  “Not  till  I am  a little 
bigger,  because  they  might  give  me  to  Mafia.” 

A Methodist  minister  who  was  some  time  in 
Stan  Creek  said  the  Caribs  were  very  honest  and 
harmless,  but  great  drunkards;  that  he  thought  they 
would  not  kill  a child  as  they  feared  the  sight  of 
human  blood.  They,  however,  can  roast  a live  one 
without  seeing  blood. 


AMONG  THE  CARIES . 


75 

As  boatsmen  the  Caribs  are  very  daring.  In  their 
exceedingly  small  dories,  they  stand  upright  gener- 
ally, and  when  seen  from  a short  distance,  appear  to 
be  walking  on  the  waves.  With  the  utmost  confi- 
dence they  paddle  about  in  deep  water, 1 swarming 
with  sharks,  though  if  their  little  boat  capsized  they 
would  almost  inevitably  be  devoured. 


REMARKABLE  WELLS  AND  CAVERNS.* 


UCATAN  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 


X States  of  Mexico,  owing  to  the  splendid 
ancient  palaces  and  temples  of  once  grand  cities, 
now  hidden  in  the  forests.  That  country  also  pre- 
sents great  attractions  for  geologists  and  botanists, 
as  well  as  naturalists,  who  there  find  rare  and  beau- 
tiful birds,  insects,  and  reptiles. 

There  are  no  rivers  on  the  surface  of  the  land,  but 
in  many  parts  it  is  entirely  undermined  by  extensive 
caverns  in  which  there  are  basins  of  water  fed  by 
subterranean  currents.  The  caverns  are  delightfully 
cool  even  at  midday ; the  fantastic  forms  of  some 
of  the  stalactites  and  stalagmites,  a never-ending 
source  of  interest.  There  are  long  winding  passages 
and  roomy  chambers  following  one  after  anotherfor 
great  distances.  Here  and  there,  through  some  chink 
in  the  stony  vault  above,  a sunbeam  penetrates,  en- 
abling us  to  see,  t*o  the  right  and  left,  openings  lead- 
ing to  untrodden  places  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

As  few  of  these  caves  have  been  explored,  the 


* Published  in  “ Scientific  American.1 


REMARKABLE  WELLS  AND  CA  FERNS. 


77 


wildest  accounts  are  given  by  the  natives  concerning 
the  dark  recesses  where  only  wild  beasts  seek  shelter. 
Before  venturing  far  in,  it  is  advisable  to  secure  one 
end  of  a ball  of  twine  at  the  entrance,  keeping  the 
ball  in  hand  ; nor  is  it  safe  to  go  without  lanterns  or 
torches,  lest  we  step  into  some  yawning  chasm  or 
deep  water.  The  leader  of  one  exploring  party 
suddenly  saw  a very  dark  spot  just  before  him  ; he 
jumped  over,  instead  of  stepping  on  it,  and  told  the 
others  to  halt.  Examination  proved  the  dark  patch 
to  be  a pit  that  seemed  bottomless. 

Awe-inspiring  as  are  the  interiors  of  some  of  these 
caves,  they  are  frequently  most  beautiful.  The  nat- 
ural pillars  are  often  grand  in  dimensions  and  spark- 
ling with  various  hues,  while  stalactites  and  stalag- 
mites sometimes  resemble  familiar  objects  with  as- 
tonishing perfection.  It  is,  however,  not  advisable 
to  place  implicit  confidence  in  accounts  of  the  na- 
tives ; for  the  reality,  no  matter  how  beautiful,  can 
hardly  be  equal  to  what  the  vivid  imagination  of  the 
Indian  has  pictured.  Anything  bearing  the  least 
resemblance  to  a woman  is  called  “ a most  beautiful 
Virgin  Mary.”  Fantastic  flutings  become  an 
“organ;”  a level  rock  “an  altar.”  Only  once  we 
were  not  disappointed,  when,  having  been  told  to 
look  for  a pulpit,  we  found  one  that  appeared  as  if 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


78 

man  must  have  fashioned  it ; supported  on  a slender 
pyramidal  base,  the  upper  part  very  symmetrical, 
and  ornamented  with  a perfect  imitation  of  bunches 
of  grapes  and  other  fruit. 

As  already  said,  in  these  caves  there  are  sheets  of 
water,  some  very  large,  others  only  a few  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, fed  by  subterranean  currents.  When 
the  water  is  clear  and  sweet,  it  is  peopled  by  a kind 
of  bagre,  called  by  the  natives  tzau , also  a blind  fish  of 
the  silurus  species.  There  are  likewise  medicinal 
and  thermal  waters,  by  bathing  in  which  many  people 
claim  to  have  been  cured  of  most  painful  and  obsti- 
nate diseases. 

Strange  stories  are  told  of  some  of  these  waters. 
Of  one  it  is  said  that  those  who  approach  it,  without 
holding  their  breath,  fall  dead.  People  who  live 
near  the  place  swear  it  is  so,  and  say  the  water  ap- 
pears to  boil  on  such  occasions.  From  the  thermal 
waters,  in  some  cases  ioo  feet  below  the  soil,  and 
not  to  be  reached  except  by  buckets  let  down 
through  an  opening  in  the  rock,  warm  vapors  issue 
at  early  morn  ; but  when  the  sun  is  high  the  water 
is  cool  and  pleasant  to  drink. 

The  name  senote , from  the  Maya  word  jonot,  is 
given  to  all  these  deposits  of  water,  also  to  some 
immense  natural  circular  wells  from  50  to  300  feet 


REMARKABLE  WELLS  AND  CA  VERNS. 


79 

in  diameter.  The  walls  are  more  or  less  perpendicu- 
lar, generally  covered  with  tropical  vegetation.  In 
some  there  is  a swift  current,  but  no  inlets  or  out- 
lets are  visible.  The  water  is  deliciously  pure  and 
sweet,  much  better  than  that  of  wells  opened  by 
man  in  the  same  country.  These  enormous  deposits 
generally  have  a rugged  path,  sometimes  very  steep, 
leading  to  the  water’s  edge.  Daring  natives  throw 
themselves  from  the  brink ; afterward  ascending  by 
stout  roots  that  hang  like  ropes  down  the  sides  ; the 
trees  above  sucking  through  these  roots  the  life- 
sustaining  fluid  more  than  a hundred  feet  below. 

In  the  west  part  of  Yucatan  there  is  a village 
called  Bolonchen  (nine  wells),  because  in  the  public 
square  there  are  nine  circular  openings  cut  through 
a stratum  of  rock.  They  are  mouths  of  one  immense 
cistern,  whether  natural  or  made  by  hand  the  natives 
do  not  know  ; in  times  of  drought  it  is  empty  ; which 
shows  that  it  is  not  supplied  by  any  subterranean 
spring.  The  inhabitants  then  depend  entirely  on 
water  found  in  a cave  a mile  and  a half  from  the  vil- 
lage. It  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  cavern  in  the 
whole  country. 

The  entrance  is  magnificently  wild  and  pictur- 
esque. It  is  necessary  to  carry  torches,  for  the  way 
is  dark  and  dangerous.  After  advancing  sixty  or 


80  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

seventy  feet  we  descend  a strong,  rough  ladder  twen- 
ty feet  long,  placed  against  a very  precipitous  rock. 
Not  the  faintest  glimmer  of  daylight  reaches  that 
spot.  After  a while  we  stand  on  the  brink  of  a 
perpendicular  precipice,  the  bottom  of  which  is 
strongly  illuminated  through  a hole  in  the  surface 
rock  more  than  200  feet  above.  Standing  on  the 
verge  of  this  awful  pit  in  the  dim  light,  the  rocks 
and  crags  seem  to  take  on  most  grotesque  shapes. 
We  go  down  into  the  great  hole  by  a ladder  eighty 
feet  high,  twelve  wide  ; and,  reaching  the  bottom, 
are  as  yet  but  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  which,  by 
the  bye,  is  called  Xtacunbil Xunan  (the  hidden  lady); 
because,  say  the  Indians,  a lady  was  stolen  from  her 
mother  and  hidden  there  by  her  lover.  Now,  to 
our  right,  we  find  a narrow  passage,  and  soon  another 
ladder ; the  darkness  is  intense  ; the  descent  continu- 
ous, though  irregular,  like  a series  of  hills  and  dales  ; 
ladders  being  placed  against  the  steepest  places. 

After  an  exhausting  journey  we  reach  a vast 
chamber,  from  which  crooked  passages  lead  in  vari- 
ous directions  to  wells,  seven  in  all,  each  named 
according  to  its  peculiar  kind  of  water.  One,  always 
warm,  is  called  chocohd  (hot  water)  ; another,  Ooelhd 
(milky  water);  and  Akabhd  (dark  water).  About 
400  paces  away  from  the  chamber,  passing  through 


REMARKABLE  WELLS  AND  CA  VERNS.  8 1 

a very  low  narrow  passage,  there  is  a basin  of  (red 
Water)  chachd , that  ebbs  and  flows  like  the  sea ; re- 
ceding with  the  south  wind,  increasing  with  the 
northwest. 

To  reach  the  most  distant  well,  we  go  down  yet 
one  more  ladder,  the  seventh.  On  one  side  there  is 
a perpendicular  wall,  on  the  other  a yawning  gulf ; 
so  that  when  one  of  the  steps,  merely  round  sticks 
tied  with  withes,  gives  way  beneath  our  feet,  we 
tightly  grasp  the  one  above.  Having  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder,  we  crawl  slowly  and  pain- 
fully through  a broken,  winding  passage  about  300 
feet  long;  then  see  before  us  a basin  of  crystalline 
water;  and  how  thirsty  we  are  ! This  basin  is  1,400 
feet  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and  about  450  feet 
below  the  earth  s surface.  Several  hundred  people 
during  five  months  in  every  year  depend  entirely  on 
that  source  for  all  the  water  they  use.  With  their 
frail  pitchers  and  flaring  torches  they  wend  their 
way,  gasping  for  breath,  through  the  intricate  pas- 
sages. The  journey  back  is  even  harder,  for  they  are 
tired  and  loaded  ; yet  these  people  are  such  lovers 
of  cleanliness  that,  arriving  at  their  poor  huts,  before 
tasting  food,  they  will  use  some  of  the  water  that 

has  cost  them  so  much,  to  bathe  their  smoke-be- 
6 


82  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

grimed  skin.  As  several  women  once  fainted  in  the 
cave,  men  now  always  fetch  the  water. 

Yucatan  is,  and  has  been  for  ages  past,  quite  free 
from  earthquakes,  while  all  surrounding  countries 
are  froqa  time  to  time  convulsed.  This  immunity 
may  be  due  to  the  vast  caverns  and  numerous  great 
wells  existing  throughout  the  land.  Pliny  the  Elder 
was  of  opinion  that  if  numerous  deep  wells  were 
made  in  the  earth  to  serve  as  outlets  for  the  gases 
that  disturb  its  upper  strata,  the  strength  of  the 
earthquakes  would  be  diminished;  if  we  may  judge 
by  Yucatan,  Pliny  was  right  in  his  conjectures. 
After  him  other  scientists, who  have  carefully  studied 
the  subject,  have  expressed  the  same  opinion  with 
regard  to  the  efficacy  of  large  wells 


IDOLATRY  IN  YUCATAN. 


WHEN  Hernando  Cortez  was  on  his  way  to 
Honduras,  he  stopped  at  a place  called  Zac 
Peten,  or  White  Island,  where  he  and  his  followers 
were  very  kindly  received,  the  inhabitants  even 
giving  them  various  presents. 

There,  the  Spaniards  killed  a number  of  deer  in 
order  to  provide  themselves  with  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  dried  venison.  The  deer  were  exceedingly 
numerous  in  those  forests,  because  the  natives  never 
killed  them  ; the  historian  Cogolludo  says  they  were 
held  sacred. 

After  several  successive  hunts,  the  horse  of  Cor- 
tez, being  either  hurt  or  exhausted,  could  not  pro- 
ceed on  the  journey,  so  its  owner  left  it  with  the 
people  of  Zac  Peten,  telling  them  that  he  would 
some  day  return  for  it. 

Those  people  had  never  before  seen  horses,  and 
perceiving  how  much  Cortez  cared  for  the  animal, 
they  considered  that  it  must  be  a creature  gifted 
with  intelligence.  They  called  it  Chaac  Tzimin , or 
thunder  and  lightning  horse,  because,  having  seen 


84  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

Cortez  fire  from  its  back  to  kill  the  deer,  they  sup- 
posed that  the  horse  was  the  cause  of  the  report 
and  flash  which  reminded  them  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning. 

They  decided  that  the  Chaac  tzimin  should  be 
fed  on  what  they  thought  the  nicest  food  ; and  ac- 
cordingly offered  it  plenty  of  well-cooked  flesh  and 
fowl ; also  presenting  to  it  bouquets  of  flowers  as 
they  were  accustomed  to  do  with  their  superiors. 

History  does  not  say  whether  the  horse  ate  the 
flowers ; but  the  fact  is  that  so  much  kindness,  and 
such  overwhelming  honors,  resulted  in  his  death;  for 
the  poor  beast  was  kept  a prisoner  on  one  spot,  and 
thus  soon  starved. 

Those  in  whose  charge  it  had  been  left  were  terri- 
fied at  the  idea  of  not  being  able  to  return  it  to 
Cortez.  They  therefore  made  an  image  of  stone 
and  mortar,  as  much  like  the  horse  as  they  possibly 
could,  and  of  the  same  size.  This  they  placed  in  a 
temple  that  held  a thousand  people,  and  thenceforth 
treated  it  with  great  reverence  ; so  that  Cortez,  if  he 
returned,  might  understand  that  his  horse  had  not 
died  from  want  of  attention  or  consideration  on 
their  part. 

About  ninety  years  later,  in  1618,  two  priests  went 
to  Peten  Itza  with  the  object  of  trying  to  convert 


IDOL  A TR  Y IN  YUCA  TAN.  85 

the  Indians  to  Christianity.  They  were  accompanied 
by  some  natives  of  Yucatan  who  did  all  in  their 
power  to  dissuade  the  fathers  from  their  purpose, 
leading  them  through  the  roughest  places  they  could 
find.  On  their  arrival  the  chiefs  and  people  received 
them  kindly,  treating  them  with  great  hospitality ; 
only  when  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  change 
their  religion,  they  said  the  time  for  that  had  not 
yet  come.  The  fathers  were  allowed  to  go  where 
they  pleased  and  examine  everything.  They  found 
various  large  temples  that  would  each  accommodate 
about  a thousand  people,  and  in  one  of  them  was 
the  image  of  Cortez’s  horse,  now  become  the  most 
sacred  of  all  their  venerated  images.  It  was  placed 
in  the  very  middle  of  the  temple,  resting  upon  its 
haunches,  the  fore  part  of  the  body  reared  so  that 
the  front  limbs  were  straight,  the  hoofs  touching  the 
floor. 

They  called  it  the  “ thunder  god,”  and  told  the 
priests  all  about  it.  Then  Friar  Juan  de  Orbita,  the 
most  excitable  of  the  two  fathers,  mounted  on  the 
back  of  the  horse,  and,  using  a stone  as  a hammer, 
broke  it  into  small  pieces,  scattering  them  over  the 
floor  of  the  temple,  at  which  the  Indians  were  so 
exasperated  that  they  raised  a great  outcry:  “ Kill 
them  ! kill  the  white  men  ! they  have  destroyed  our 


86  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

thunder  god  ; let  them  die  for  the  injury  they  have 
done ! ” 

The  priests,  instead  of  showing  fear,  knowing  well 
the  language  of  the  natives,  scolded  them  for  their 
idolatry;  made  a long  speech  explainingthe  Christian 
doctrine,  and  showed  them  the  crucifix,  by  which 
they  gathered  that  they  must  worship  the  cross  in- 
stead of  the  horse.  They  were  so  thoroughly  mys- 
tified that  they  went  quietly  to  their  chief  Canek. 
Seeing  that  he  said  very  little,  they  too  held  their 
peace. 

The  fathers,  however,  could  not  induce  anyone  to 
become  Christian ; so  they  left  the  island  in  their 
canoe,  taking  with  them  handsome  presents  from  the 
chiefs,  who  told  them  to  return  at  some  future  time. 
The  people  pelted  them  with  small  stones  after  they 
were  in  the  boat ; then  stood  on  the  shore  mimic- 
ing  all  they  had  done. 

A few  hours  later  a canoe  suddenly  came  across 
that  of  the  fathers.  In  it  were  several  of  the  natives 
from  Zac  Peten.  They  had  painted  themselves 
black,  were  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  had 
followed  unseen,  by  another  route,  on  purpose  to 
kill  the  fathers,  so  that,  as  they  said,  no  other 
white  man  would  go  to  Peten  to  destroy  things  and 
bother  them. 


1D0LA  TRY  IN  Y UCA  TAN.  87 

Those  who  accompanied  the  Spaniards,  and  had 
so  earnestly  advised  them  not  to  go,  now  used  all 
their  powers  of  persuasion  to  save  their  lives,  saying 
that  there  was  no  need  to  kill  them  since  they  were 
goingaway.  It  was  only  due  to  their  kind  efforts 
that  the  priests  were  spared  to  tell  the  tale. 

In  the  forests  of  Yucatan  dwell  many  Indian 
families,  scattered  here  and  there,  forming  very 
small  hamlets,  in  out-of-the-way  places,  to  avoid 
being  taxed  or  called  upon  for  military  service. 
They  of  course  have  few  comforts;  contenting 
themselves  with  corn,  black  beans,  and  red  pep- 
per. 

Having  no  education  they  are  not  troubled  by  any 
ambition  save  that  of  keeping  their  liberty,  and  going 
through  life  with  as  little  labor  as  possible.  The  all- 
important  object  in  their  existence  is  corn  ; the  only 
work  they  never  neglect  is  the  cultivation  of  that 
grain.  In  the  same  field  they  plant  beans,  the  vines 
twining  around  the  corn  stalks. 

Their  method  of  preparing  the  soil  for  seed  is 
exactly  the  same  as  that  in  use  by  some  of  the  people 
in  Equatorial  Africa.  In  the  dry  season,  trees  are 
felled  in  any  chosen  part  of  the  forest,  and  reduced 
to  ashes  in  order  to  enrich  the  thin  coating  of  loam 
that  covers  the  very  stony  soil.  After  the  first 


88  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

showers  have  fallen  the  grain  is  dropped  into  small 
holes  made  with  a pointed  stick  by  the  sower,  who, 
with  his  foot,  spreads  over  it  a little  earth. 

While  sojourning  in  the  deserted  city  of  Chichen 
Itza,  we  heard  that  some  of  those  simple  people, 
living  not  far  from  the  ruins,  had  an  ancient  statue 
that  they  worshiped  as  a divinity.  Investigation 
proved  the  report  true. 

The  statue  is  kept  in  a cave,  or  rather,  mine,  that 
has  been  formed  by  digging  out  zaccab , a white  earth 
used  with  lime  for  making  mortar.  It  represents  a 
man  with  a long  beard,  kneeling;  his  arms  upraised 
so  that  the  hands  are  on  a level  with  the  head ; the 
hands  themselves  spread  wide  open,  palms  upward. 
On  the  back  of  the  figure  there  is  something  that 
may  have  represented  a musical  instrument,  but  the 
natives  call  it  jbuleuah , a cake  made  of  black  beans 
and  ground  corn.  Perhaps  it  is  owing  to  this 
fancy  that  they  have  made  it  their  god  of  agricul- 
ture. It  is  not  so  easy  to  understand  why  they  call 
it  Zactalah  (the  blow,  or  slap  of  a white  man).  The 
Indians,  being  beardless  themselves,  perhaps  con- 
cluded that  the  statue  must  be  that  of  a white  man; 
and  the  uplifted  hands  may  suggest  to  them  a readi- 
ness to  strike ; although  the  posture  is  one  of  adora- 
tion. There  are  several  figures  like  this,  sculptured 


IDOLATRY  IN  YUCATAN.  89 

In  bas-relief  on  the  capitals  of  pillars  in  an  ancient 
castle  at  Chichen  Itza.  The  faces  are  unlike  those 
of  any  American  race,  having  decidedly  Assyrian 
features. 

Zactalah  is  no  longer  white,  but  grimed  with  the 
smoke  of  many  candles  that  its  faithful  worshipers 
burn  around  it.  Before  setting  fire  to  the  trees  that 
lie  in  their  future  corn-field,  they  carry  to  the  black- 
ened idol,  a cool  beverage  called  Zaca;  at  the  same 
time  they  burn  incense,  believing  to  gratify  his  olfac- 
tory organ,  and  surround  him  with  lighted  wax 
candles,  beseeching  him  to  make  the  trees  burn 
thoroughly. 

When  they  plant,  they  again  go  to  Zactalah,  to 
make  similar  offerings  in  order  that  they  may  ob- 
tain abundant  crops,  and  that  no  destructive  ani- 
mals may  get  into  the  fields  to  uproot  the  tender 
sprouts. 

All  these  favors  having  been  granted,  the  good 
people  are  not  ungrateful.  As  soon  as  the  grain  is 
ripe,  before  reaping  the  harvest,  they  gather  the 
most  perfect  ears  for  Zactalah.  These  primitioe  are 
cooked  and  prepared  in  various  ways ; then  men, 
women,  and  children,  all  leave  the  hamlet  very 
early  in  the  morning,  and  go  in  pilgrimage  to  the 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


90 

cave,  carrying  their  offerings ; bread  and  liquor  for 
their  own  use;  a very  inferior  violin  and  a large  tun- 
kel. This  is  a quaint  old  musical  instrument;  a 
piece  of  wood  about  three  feet  long  and  one  foot  in 
diameter,  hollowed  out ; on  one  side  it  has  -a  long 
narrow  mouth  ; on  the  other,  two  oblong  tongues 
that  almost  meet  in  the  middle.  Its  mouth  is  placed 
on  the  ground,  and  the  tongues,  like  two  keys,  are 
struck  with  short  sticks,  whose  ends  are  covered  with 
india-rubber  to  make  them  rebound.  The  sound  pro- 
duced is  like  a great  rumbling  in  the  earth,  and  can, 
when  the  wind  is  favorable,  be  heard  five  or  six  miles 
off.  The  word  tunkel  means  to  be  worshiping , and 
the  natives  use  the  instrument  in  all  their  ancient 
ceremonies. 

Having  arrived  at  the  cave  of  Zactalah,  the  women 
begin  their  devotions  by  removing  their  garments 
that  have  gathered  dust  on  the  road,  replacing  them 
by  clean  ones.  Then  kneeling  before  the  image,  beads 
in  hand,  they  chant  the  prayers  and  litanies  of  the 
Romish  church,  the  violin  and  tunkel  accompanying 
their  voices.  What  a combination  of  pagan  and 
Christian  worship! 

The  prayers  are  alternated  with  dancing,  by  the 
women  only ; every  now  and  then  all  take  a little 


IDOLATRY  IN  YUCATAN. . 


9r 

fire-water  (rum),  and  when  they  feel  hungry  some 
bread,  or posole,  another  preparation  of  corn. 

In  this  way  they  pass  hour  after  hour,  till  the  sun 
is  low  in  the  west;  then  wend  their  way  home- 
ward through  forest  paths,  happy  in  the  thought 
that  they  have  faithfully  performed  a religious  duty. 

The  high  priest  of  this  venerated  image  is  a white 
man,  his  assistant  being  an  Indian  named  Ku,  a 
medicine-man. 

The  devotees  of  Zactalah,  hearing  that  we  had 
discovered  a grand  altar  supported  by  fifteen  stone 
images  (caryatids),  came  to  ask  us  if  they  could  look 
at  them;  and  having  taken  a particular  fancy  to  one, 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  carry  it  away. 

“ What  for?  ” we  asked.  They  replied,  “ We  will 
have  it  in  our  village,  build  a nice  shrine  for  it,  and 
it  shall  be  our  patron  saint ; we  will  light  the  best 
wax  candles  for  it,  and  burn  plenty  of  copal  so  that 
it  may  protect  us,  because  it  is  an  enchanted  soul.” 

Not  believing  them  greatly  in  need  of  a new  god, 
we  found  an  excuse  for  refusing  their  request. 

In  fact  there  is  not  a bit  less  idolatry  among  those 
people  now,  perhaps  we  are  safe  in  saying  that 
there  is  more,  than  before  Christianity  was  intro- 
duced among  them;  at  least  their  divinities  are  more 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


<92 

numerous  : for  now  they  worship  images  of  saints, 
as  well  as  other  figures,  firmly  believing  that  they 
have  power  to  do  them  good  or  harm  ; while  an- 
ciently such  figures  but  represented  ideas,  or  served 
to  remind  them  of  something  higher,  as  those  in  the 
Catholic  church  are  intended  to  do. 


NEW-YEAR’S  DAY  AMONG  THE  MAYAS.* 


HE  Mayas,  like  the  ancient  Egyptians,  had  a 


solar,  or  astronomical  year  of  twelve  months;, 
and  a lunar,  or  civil  year  divided  into  eighteen 
months  of  twenty  days;  to  which  were  added — to 
make  365 — five  days  that  had  no  name.  The  first 
month  of  the  civil  year  was  called  Pop.  It  com- 
menced on  what  is  for  us  July  16,  ending  on 
August  5. 

The  first  day  of  Pop  was  a general  holiday,  also  a 
day  of  special  worship.  Those  who  could  possibly 
afford  it  then  had  everything  new — clothing,  uten- 
sils, and  furniture;  even  the  household  images  that 
they  venerated  were  provided  with  new  garments,. 
All  discarded  things,  every  particle  of  rubbish  and 
dirt,  were  carried  outside  of  the  town  or  village.  No 
one  thought  of  touching  anything  thus  thrown 
away,  even  though  they  might  see  useful  articles,, 
and  be  greatly  in  need  of  them. 

Previous  to  New-Year’s  Day  the  priests  and  those. 


* Published  in  “ Harpers  Bazar.” 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


94 

gentlemen  who  wished  to  take  part  in  certain  relig- 
ious ceremonies,  abstained  from  all  indulgence  that 
might  give  them  any  gratification:  and  fasted  a 
longer  or  shorter  time,  according  to  the  strength  of 
their  devotion  to  the  gods.  Some  fasted  three 
months  (sixty  days),  others  only  one.  Once  having 
commenced  a fast,  none  would  dare  to  break  it  until 
the  end  of  the  year,  believing  that  if  they  did,  dire 
misfortune  would  befall  them.  Throughout  their 
fast  they  painted  themselves  black.  The  priests 
meanwhile  elected  four  officials  to  assist  them  in  the 
religious  services  of  New-Year’s  Day.  These  assist- 
ants, called  chacob , were  supposed  to  represent  the 
gods  of  rain  and  agriculture,  also  called  chacob . The 
duty  of  the  four  men  elected  w^as  to  make  a number 
of  balls  and  cakes  of  incense  needed  for  the  occa- 
sion. 

On  the  first  day  of  Pop , those  who  had  prepared 
themselves  by  fasting  and  other  abstinence,  washed 
off  all  the  black  paint,  putting  on  red  instead.  We  may 
suppose  that  the  black  paint  signified  the  death  of 
the  old  year;  as  for  the  red  they  considered  it  very 
becoming,  using  it  because  it  was  fashionable.  It 
might  on  that  particular  occasion  have  been  also 
symbolical  of  the  new  fire , likewise  kindled  on  the 
first  day  of  the  year. 


NEW  YEANS  DA  Y AMONG  THE  MA  YAS.  g* 

The  priests  and  gentlemen  assembled  in  the 
court-yard  of  the  temple,  with  only  a few  aged 
women  who  had  to  dance.  Before  the  ceremony 
began,  many  people  came  to  deposit  in  the  court- 
yard abundant  presents  in  the  shape  of  food  and 
drink,  with  plenty  of  balchd,  the  nectar  of  the  gods, 
all  of  which  was  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  had 
patiently  fasted.  But  first  the  rite  must  be  observed. 

The  priests  began  by  purifying  the  temple  and 
the  yard  with  incense;  then  the  devil  had  to  be  cast 
out.  This  was  done  by  passing  a rope  all  round  the 
yard,  a chac  being  seated  at  each  corner;  an  assist- 
ant was  given  some  incense  and  a goblet  of  balcht 
to  carry  outside  of  the  village.  He  was  strictly  for- 
bidden to  taste  the  nectar. 

Then  the  four  chacob  made  the  new  fire,  pro- 
duced by  rubbing  together  two  pieces  of  wood,  one 
hard,  the  other  soft.  It  is  a most  interesting  fact 
that  the  pireos  or  Magi  priests  in  Persia,  when  their 
sacred  fire  went  out — which  they  considered  a 
great  misfortune — had  .to  kindle  it  in  the  purest 
way  possible;  this  they  did  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of 
dry  wood  together , or  by  concentrating  the  solar  rays, 
by  means  of  mirrors  or  lenses,  on  something  inflam- 
mable. They  renovated  their  fire  once  a year,  at 
the  time  of  the  summer  solstice. 


g6  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

In  the  splendid  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco, 
Peru,  there  were  vestals  who,  like  the  young  Levite 
girls  educated  in  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  had  to 
weave  the  ornaments  of  the  temple,  garments  for 
the  priests  and  their  household,  as  well  as  for  the 
family  of  the  Inca.  Their  principal  duty  was  to 
watch  with  untiring  vigilance  over  the  sacred  fire, 
obtained  at  the  feast  of  Raymi,  from  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  by  means  of  a concave  metallic  mirror. 

In  Rome  vestals  were  likewise  bound  to  keep 
alive  the  fire  obtained  in  the  same  way  at  the  feast 
of  Pales  (goddess  of  the  flocks).  A similar  obliga- 
tion was  imposed  upon  the  priestess  of  Diana-Laph- 
ria  at  Patras.  Any  one  of  those  maidens  who  un- 
fortunately allowed  the  sacred  fire  to  die  out  was  re- 
lentlessly buried  alive. 

Even  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  once  every 
year,  on  the  day  following  Good-Friday,  the  priests 
make  new  fire  by  striking  together  two  stones.  The 
officiating  father  blesses  the  new  fire  and  extin- 
guishes the  old;  he  also  burns  incense  on  the 
freshly  kindled  coals,  and  a taper  lit  from  them 
serves  to  light  all  the  other  candles,  that  they  may 
burn  with  the  new  fire . 

So  among  the  Mayas,  with  the  new  fire  the  priests 
burned  incense  to  their  gods.  Then  one  by  one  all 


NEW  YEANS  DA  Y AMONG  THE  MA  YAS.  gj 

those  who  were  taking  part  in  the  ceremony  re- 
ceived a small  quantity  of  incense  from  the  priest, 
who  was  careful  not  to  spill  the  least  portion  of  it; 
they  threw  it  into  the  brazier  little  by  little,  watch- 
ing it  until  every  particle  was  burned;  the  old  women 
meanwhile  goingthrough  a weird  dance  to  the  beat- 
ing of  the  sacred  tunkul  (drum)  and  the  music  of 
other  instruments,  such  as  the  sistrum,  used  in  re- 
ligious ceremonies  in  many  countries. 

The  priests  earnestly  besought  that  the  blessing 
of  Ku  (Divine  Essence)  might  rest  upon  the  people 
during  the  year.  They  then  felt  at  liberty  to  enjoy 
the  good  things  that  had  been  brought  for  them,  so 
a banquet  ensued,  conducted  with  the  strictest  eti- 
quette and  good  manners;  while  the  people  all  over 
the  land  made  merry  as  they  pleased  till  the  sun 
sank  in  the  west  and  New-Year’s  Day  was  at  an  end. 
7 


BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM* 


LABOR  is  the  unavoidable  condition  of  life ; to 
toil  for  existence  an  unchangeable  law  of  na- 
ture. From  the  smallest  microscopic  insect  to  the 
largest  globe  that  is  forever  rushing  through  bound- 
less space,  every  atom  is  active ; every  creature 
struggling,  toiling,  battling  for  life;  millions  upon 
millions  of  individuals  bound  together,  forming  one 
great  whole,  and  mutually  dependent  on  each  other. 

Whether  life  is  worth  living  or  not,  makes  no  dif- 
ference; the  ever-dominant  power  that  we  call  in- 
stinct, impels  us  to  strive ; repels  us  from  extinc- 
tion; we  blindly  obey.  We  are  weary  in  mind  and 
body,  we  suffer  only:  nevertheless  we  employ  the 
proper  means  to  go  on  existing.  “ Would  that  I 
were  dead ! ” exclaims  some  unhappy  wretch  ; but 
propose  to  send  him  forth  into  the  great  unknown, 
and  see  how  he  shrinks  back  from  the  dark  abyss 
when  the  actual  minute  of  yielding  up  his  existence 
arrives  Happy  or  miserable,  we  cling  to  life. 


Published  in  “ Home  Journal. 


BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM . 


99 

Suicides  do  not  disprove  this,  for  they  take  their 
lives — except  in  very  rare  cases — while  suffering  from 
temporary  insanity. 

Work,  we  must ; and  we  become  more  and  more 
the  slaves  of  labor  as  civilization  increases  and  ficti- 
tious wants  are  created. 

The  unequal  distribution  of  wealth,  that  causes 
such  bitterness  of  spirit  and  fierce  struggles  between 
capital  and  labor,  is  the  natural  result  of  a compli- 
cated social  system ; nor  is  it  easy  to  suggest  an 
effective,  lasting  remedy;  for  we  are  inclined  to  think 
that  even  the  most  earnest  socialist  would  be  un- 
willing to  renounce  his  right  to  amass  property. 
Furthermore,  if  the  goods  of  the  earth  were  equally 
divided  to-day,  within  a year  matters  would  be  about 
as  they  are  now;  for  some  would  hoard,  others 
squander,  and  the  more  venturesome  would  specu- 
late, thus  largely  increasing  their  wealth,  or  losing 
it  all. 

Beyond  a question  it  is  piteous  to  see  a thinly 
clad  woman,  barefooted,  blue  with  cold,  clasping  a 
famished  babe  to  the  breast  that  quivers  with  sup- 
pressed sobs — with  grief  for  the  hapless  little  one 
who  can  find  there  no  warmth  or  nourishment : 
while  a luxurious  carriage  rolls  by,  the  gouty  epi- 
cure within  too  ill-humored  to  take  the  trouble  of 


IOO 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


throwing  a penny  to  his  starving  fellow-creature, 
who,  with  beseeching  eyes,  implores  his  aid,  as 
the  snow-flakes  flutter  down  upon  her  ragged  gar- 
ments. 

But  look ! in  the  snow,  at  that  woman’s  feet, 
hopping  hither  and  thither  on  the  whitened  ground, 
some  poor  little  sparrows  eagerly  seek  a crumb. 
They  too  are  cold  and  hungry  ; their  tiny  limbs  are 
almost  stiff.  Now,  one  more  lucky  than  the  rest, 
finds  a piece  of  bread ; the  others  approach,  but 
number  one  hotly  defends  his  own ; will  share  the 
morsel  only  with  his  mate. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  street  a fat  dog  has  just 
found  a bone.  A wretched  half-starved  cur  ventures 
near  to  plead  for  a share.  Does  he  get  it  ? 

Alas ! we  are  but  human  animals. 

Centuries  ago,  the  people  of  America  had  a sys- 
tem of  communism  that  we  to-day  would  not  tol- 
erate— no ! not  even  those  who  declaim  against 
capitalists,  while  in  their  heart  of  hearts  they  hope 
to  one  day  have  a capital  of  their  own. 

The  Peruvians  in  South,  the  Mayas  in  Central 
America,  were  then  the  two  most  civilized  nations 
on  this  continent ; both  were  communists,  though 
the  difference  between  them  was  great ; for  while 
under  the  rule  of  the  Incas  the  system  was  compul- 


BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM. 


IOI 


sory,  the  Mayas  adopted  this  mode  of  life  from 
inclination,  being  as  absolutely  free  from  greed  of 
wealth  as  are  their  unfortunate  and  degraded  de- 
scendants. 

The  Incas  ordained  that  one-third  of  the  land 
should  be  dedicated  to  the  sun;  that  is  to  say,  to 
the  maintainance  of  the  temples  and  priesthood. 
One-third  was  for  all  government  expenses,  public 
works,  etc. ; including  the  support  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily, of  the  army,  and  to  fill  the  public  granaries 
kept  for  cases  of  emergency.  The  remaining  third 
of  the  land  was  divided  among  the  people  in  equal 
shares : none  could  by  any  means  whatsoever  aug- 
ment his  property.  A topo  of  land  was  granted 
to  every  male  child,  half  a topo  to  every  female, 
one  topo  and  a half  being  considered  sufficient  for 
the  support  of  a man  and  wife.  Marriage  was  obli- 
gatory at  a certain  age ; and  as  a topo  or  half  topo 
was  added  to  the  property  at  the  birth  of  each  child, 
an  increase  of  family  did  not  make  parents  dread 
poverty  for  their  offspring.  Once  every  year  addi- 
tional land  was  bestowed  upon  those  having  a right 
to  it.  At  the  death  of  any  individual,  child  or  adult, 
the  property  reverted  to  the  commonwealth.  There 
were  no  capitalists,  no  monopolies;  consequently 
no  great  enterprises  except  those  undertaken  by  the 


102 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


government — and  they  were  many — the  costs  being 
defrayed  by  the  public  treasury.  Nor  was  any  one 
ever  distressed  by  want. 

The  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  likewise  regulated. 
Agriculture  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Peru- 
vians. The  Inca  himself,  at  a festival  held  in  the 
month  of  November,  publicly  tilled  the  ground  with 
a golden  plow  to  set  a good  example,  and  the  labors 
of  the  husbandman  were  always  facilitated  in  every 
possible  way. 

The  first  land  to  be  tilled  and  planted  was  that  of 
the  sun,  or,  in  other  words,  that  of  the  church;  all  took 
part  in  the  labor.  After  that  they  prepared  the  soil 
and  sowed  the  seed  on  such  ground  as  belonged  to  the 
aged,  infirm,  widows,  young  orphans  and  soldiers  in 
service  ; their  wives  being  considered  as  needing  the 
same  assistance  as  widows : women  did  not  work  in 
the  fields  ; perhaps  for  this  reason  the  women’s  allot- 
ment of  land  was  less  than  that  of  the  man. 

No  one  had  a right  to  attend  to  his  own  interests 
until  the  land  of  all  the  helpless  people  was  sown 
with  seed.  The  Inca  Huayna  ordered  a man  to  be 
hanged  because  he  dared  to  till  the  land  of  one  of  his 
relations,  who  was  well  and  strong,  while  the  work 
for  the  infirm  was  yet  unfinished  ; the  gallows  was 
erected  on  the  very  spot  where  the  man  had  been 


BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM , 


103 

found  working.  Charity  was  not  merely  regarded  as 
a virtue  to  be  honored  but  as  a paramount  duty. 

This  service  having  been  performed  for  the  help- 
less, each  prepared  the  land  assigned  to  himself,  his 
wife  and  children  ; if  a large  family  made  the  work 
too  much  for  one  man,  it  was  obligatory  for  his 
neighbors  to  aid  him.  The  lands  belonging  to  the 
government  were  attended  to  last. 

Thus  we  see  that  beyond  a limited  extent  individ- 
ual liberty  did  not  exist.  Nevertheless,  those  people 
were  very  happy;  no  wretched  beggars  dragged  their 
loathsome  rags  and  filth  through  the  streets,  disfig- 
uring the  highway,  filling  every  sympathetic  heart 
with  sorrow. 

That  system  extended  throughout  a population 
of  millions,  every  matter  being  regulated  with  the 
greatest  nicety.  For  each  ten  men  there  was  one 
who  had  to  look  after  their  conduct  and  interests; 
these  officers  reported  to  others  who  overlooked  one 
hundred  individuals.  They  in  turn  gave  a full 
account  of  everything  to  higher  officials;  and  so  on 
up  to  the  Inca,  the  child  of  the  sun,  the  father  of  the 
people. 

The  Mayas  were  no  less  charitable  than  the  Pe- 
ruvians. Not  content  with  giving  assistance  when 
requested,  they  searched  their  towns  and  villages  to 


104 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


find  the  maimed  and  infirm ; providing  them  with 
all  the  necessaries  of  life.  At  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  the  land  was  common  property;  all  worked 
together  to  cultivate  it,  dividing  the  product  equally, 
after  presenting  a part  to  their  caciques.  They 
never  thought  of  cheating  each  other. 

They  had  netted  purses,  and  in  the  markets  treated 
of  everything  that  was  in  the  land.  They  gave 
credit,  lent  and  paid  without  interest.  Written  bonds 
were  not  in  use  among  them,  for  none  dreamed  of 
breaking  their  word. 

Fifty  or  a hundred  would  go  hunting  or  fishing; 
instead  of  each  appropriating  his  own  game  it  was 
equally  divided  among  all  at  the  end  of  the  day. 
There  was  such  a universal  brotherhood  among  those 
people  that  when  one  went  traveling  he  was  welcome 
in  every  house,  sheltered  and  fed  as  a matter  of 
course,  nobody  thinking  of  asking  or  accepting  pay- 
ment. To-day,  their  descendants,  though  very  poor, 
are  some  of  the  most  hospitable  people  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  Even  yet,  although  entirely  in  the 
power  of  the  white  man,  constantly  laboring  for  ex- 
acting masters,  they  help  each  other  and  share 
equally  as  far  as  it  lies  in  their  power.  If  fire  de- 
stroys an  Indian’s  hut,  his  home,  dear  to  his  heart 
and  as  great  a loss  as  a palace  can  be  to  a prince,  all 


BONDAGE  IN  COMMUNISM. 


105 

his  neighbors  make  time  to  help  him  get  together 
the  necessary  materials  to  build  a new  home ; 
gladly  sheltering  him  and  his  family  meanwhile ; 
with  never  a thought  of  reward.  They  love  to  hunt, 
and,  when  they  have  a chance,  go  to  the  woods  in 
large  parties  for  that  purpose,  always  sharing  the 
game  equally. 

In  our  civilized  communities  such  an  unselfish, 
disinterested  condition  of  life  is  quite  out  of  the 
question.  Our  race  is  in  a stage  of  development 
that  makes  a similar  state  of  things  impossible.  Ego 
is  now  the  all-absorbing  subject;  the  foremost  in  every 
thought  and  deed.  Until  we  succeed  in  moderating 
our  selfishness  there  will  always  be  millionaires  and 
beggars ; with  periodical  uprisings  of  the  enraged 
masses,  who,  in  their  assault  on  capital,  do  about  as 
much  harm  to  the  rich  man  as  a butterfly’s  delicate 
wings  could  inflict  upon  a stone  wall : the  wings  are 
bruised  and  weakened  ; the  wall  is  unaltered.  Only 
when  men  cease  to  love  money  will  mankind  be  well 
off,  and  that  time  is  not  near  at  hand. 


THE  LOST  LITERATURE  OF  THE 

MAYAS* 


he  nations  that  peopled  the  American  continent 


X prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Spanish  conquerors 
are  all  spoken  of  as  Indians.  The  word  Indian  imme- 
diately calls  up  a vision — at  least  in  the  mind’s  eye 
of  many  people — of  a dark-skinned  savage  ; not  over- 
burdened with  clothing,  but  elaborately  tatooed  and 
smeared  with  paint,  a towering  ornament  of  gaudy 
feathers  on  his  head,  a tomahawk  in  his  hand. 

It  seldom  occurs  to  those  who  have  not  seriously 
considered  the  matter  that  there  is  no  reason  why 
this  large  continent  should  not  have  been  inhabited 
by  as  great  a variety  of  people  as  the  lands  on 
the  other  side  of  the  globe,  since  it  was  equally 
suitable  for  the  human  race. 

Nevertheless,  all  scientific  discoveries  made  up  to 
the  present  time  tend  to  prove  that  such  was  in  fact 
the  case.  The  “ noble  savage  ” had  his  place,  and 
there  was  abundant  space  left  for  the  sage.  They 
dwelt  in  different  latitudes  ; those  of  greater  civil- 


* Published  in  “ Literary  Life. 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  \oy 

ization  lived  in  the  tropical  climes,  so  much  more 
conducive  to  the  welfare  of  man  than  our  temper- 
ate zones. 

It  is  in  Southern  Mexico,  Guatemala  and  Hon- 
duras, down  to  Darien,  that  the  traveler  pauses  in 
amazement  before  splendid  monumental  remains 
that  are  scattered  over  vast  territories.  Who  were 
the  builders  ? The  people  found  there  at  the 
time  of  the  Conquest  said  they  did  not  know ; if 
any  traditions  existed  among  them  they  remained 
untold  ; nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  consi- 
der the  way  in  which  the  natives  were  treated  by 
the  European  invaders. 

Civilized  as  they  were  in  some  respects,  the  Amer- 
icans at  that  epoch  were  degenerated — as  history 
teaches  us  that  all  great  nations  do  sooner  or  later 
degenerate,  like  individuals  who,  having  reached 
maturity,  pass  to  old  age  and  decay.  Even  the 
Mayas,  once  masters  of  all  Central  America,  the 
hardest  to  conquer,  and  the  most  civilized,  would, 
after  a few  more  centuries,  have  relapsed  into  a sav- 
age state,  into  a national  second  childhood.  The 
palaces  and  temples  of  their  ancestors  make  the 
peninsula  of  Yucatan,  where  there  are  several  an- 
cient cities,  a very  attractive  place  for  antiquarians 


108  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

those  temples  and  palaces  are  elaborately  adorned 
with  sculptured  ornaments  and  inscriptions. 

If  a complex  language  indicates  an  advanced 
civilization  the  Mayas  were  highly  civilized,  for  their 
language  enables  one  to  express  the  finest  shade 
of  thought ; even  to-day  some  of  the  aborigines  use 
such  poetical  forms  of  speech  that  it  is  a delight  to 
listen  to  them  telling  quaint  stories.  The  priests, 
who  accompanied  the  Spanish  conquerors  to  Yuca- 
tan, felt  sufficient  interest  in  the  new  country  to 
write  an  account  of  what  seemed  to  them  note- 
worthy, though  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that 
they  left  many  things  unrecorded  ; they,  however, 
took  particular  care  to  describe  the  books  of  the 
Mayas. 

Father  Landa,  in  his  work  "Las  Cosasde  Yucatan  ” 
(the  things  of  Yucatan),  tells  us  that  the  Maya 
priests  wrote  books  about  their  various  sciences,  and 
imparted  their  knowledge  to  others  whom  they  con- 
sidered worthy  of  such  enlightenment. 

Very  good  paper  was  manufactured  from  the 
roots  and  bark  of  certain  trees,  the  surface  of  the 
paper  being  made  lustrous  with  a white  transparent 
varnish  on  which  it  was  quite  easy  to  write;  the 
varnish  was  said  to  be  indestructible.  The  paper 
was  made  in  very  large  sheets,  some  of  the  books 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  jq  9 

being  ten  or  twelve  varas  long  (a  vara  is  33  inches), 
of  one  piece,  and  folded  like  a fan.* 

Archaeology  was  one  of  the  sciences  studied  by 
the  Maya  wise  men,  which  shows  that  the  past  was. 
as  great  a mystery,  and  as  attractive  a subject 
for  them  as  it  is  for  antiquarians  of  our  days.  They 
also  had  works  on  medicine,  on  astronomy,  on 
chronology,  and  geology ; theology  too  was  treated 
of  in  their  writings,  and  they  had  a ritual  explain- 
ing when  certain  religious  festivals  should  be  cele- 
brated : the  art  of  divination  and  gift  of  prophecy 
were  likewise  considered. 

Many  of  the  gentlemen  were  instructed  in  all 
those  matters,  being  much  respected  for  their  learn- 
ing, but  never  spoke  about  it,  or  made  a display 
of  it  in  public  ; they  were  no  doubt  bound  not  to  di- 
vulge certain  things  revealed  to  them  in  the  secrecy 
of  initiation. 

There  were  individuals  who  made  a special  study 
of  genealogy;  they  were  frequently  employed  to 
trace  out  the  ancestry  of  persons  who  wished  to 
boast  of  noble  lineage. 

They  had  books  containing  the  early  history  of 
their  own  nation,  and  that  of  other  people  with 


Cogolludo.  “Hist,  de  Yucatan/ 


I IO 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


whom  they  had  had  friendly  intercourse  or  war.  In 
those  volumes  there  were  complete  records  of  what 
had  taken  place  in  different  epochs ; of  the  va- 
rious wars,  inundations,  epidemics,  plagues,  fam- 
ine, and  every  important  event. 

Doctor  Aguilar,  a Spaniard  who  succeeded  in 
learning  to  read  some  of  the  Maya  writings,  said 
that  in  a book  which  he  took  from  one  of  the 
“ idolators,  ” he  read  of  a plague  which  had 
fallen  upon  the  country  in  remote  times  ; it  was 
called  Ocna-kuchil,  which,  said  he,  means  sudden 
death.  (Ocna  is  to  sink  down , kuchil  to  come  to 
a termination).  There  was  also  an  account  of 
another  plague  which  made  such  shocking  ravages 
that  the  buzzards  entered  the  houses  to  consume 
the  corpses,  the  people  being  no  longer  able  to  bury 
their  dead. 

The  name  they  gave  to  inundations  and  hurri- 
canes was  Uunyecil , “ flooding  or  floating  of  trees.  ” 

Among  the  divinities  mentioned  in  their  theo- 
logical treatise  was  the  goddess  of  painting  (prob- 
ably of  literature,  because  all  their  writings  were 
painted  in  various  colors)  and  “ weaving  figures 
into  cloth  ” (tapestry).  She  was  named  Ix-che-bel - 
yax. 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  m 

The  god  of  poetry  was  called  Ah-Kin-Xox . (The 
priest  who  says  foolish  or  frivolous  things). 

With  the  exception  of  singing  and  poetry  the  arts 
and  sciences  were  personified  as  females.* 

The  Spanish  historians  tell  us  that  the  Mayas 
had  remarkable  memories  and  were  in  the  habit  of 
reciting  ancient  fables ; the  Christian  fathers  did 
everything  in  their  power  to  make  them  forget  such 
folk-lore.  To  effect  their  purpose  more  rapidly 
they  made  free  use  of  the  lash  and  obliged  the  vic- 
tims to  learn  all  sorts  of  stories  connected  with 
the  Romish  church.  This,  of  course,  was  after  the 
fathers  had  learned  the  Maya  language;  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  conquest  of  Yucatan  oc- 
cupied several  years. 

Among  those  who  knew  the  ancient  fables  there 
were  some  very  clever  actors  who  personated  the 
characters  portrayed  in  such  stories. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  many  of  the  books 
were  on  scientific  subjects,  Landa  makes  the  follow- 
ing confession,  as  if  he  were  rather  proud  of  the 
deed.  “We  found  a great  number  of  their  books, 
but  because  there  was  nothing  in  them  that  had 
not  some  superstition  and  falsehood  of  the  Devil, 


* Cogolludo.  “ Hist,  de  Yucatan. 


I 12 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


we  burned  them  all , at  which  the  natives  were 
marvellously  sorry  and  much  distressed.  * 

Father  Cogolludo,  who  went  to  that  country  a 
hundred  years  later,  commenting  on  the  destruction 
of  the  books,  says : “ It  seems  to  me  that  the 

books  might  have  been  sent  to  Spain.  ” 

Besides  burning  the  paper  books,  Landa  fed 
the  flames  with  twenty-seven  large  manuscripts  of 
parchment  (deerskin)  ; likewise  destroying  five  thou- 
sand statues,  of  various  sizes,  and  one  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  vases. 

Words  fail  to  express  the  regret  that  one  must 
ever  feel  at  this  irreparable  loss,  due  only  to  the 
misguided  zeal  of  a fanatical  priest  whose  intellect 
seems  to  have  been  groping  in  the  darkness  of 
the  middle  ages.  Could  we  but  have  those  books 
in  our  hands  to-day,  in  this  age  of  discovery, 
possibly  we  should  find  that  some  of  those  very 
things  condemned  by  the  good  father  as  super- 
stition and  falsehood,  were  a record  of  curious  facts 
or  studies  known  in  times  gone  by,  and  now  re- 
found. Who  can  tell?  How  many  of  the  recent 
discoveries  would  have  been  regarded,  less  than 
a hundred  years  ago,  and  even  by  the  most  extrava- 
gant minds,  as  utter  impossibilities  ? 

* Landa.  Las  cosas  de  Yucatan,  chap,  xli.,  p.  316. 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  1 1 3 

Landa  had  but  an  imperfect  understanding  of 
the  Maya  writings,  and  has  given  no  translation 
of  any  of  them  ; yet,  with  some  inconsistency,  he 
made  a copy  of  the  alphabetical  signs,  as  well  as 
others  that  stood  for  the  names  of  days  and  months. 
It  is  well  that  he  did  this,  for  although  he  boasted 
of  having  burned  all  the  books,  four  escaped  falling 
into  his  hands — how,  it  is  not  known  ; and  the 
few  signs  he  condescended  to  copy  and  keep,  now 
serve  as  a key  to  the  translation  of  those  precious 
volumes.  They  are  known  as  Troano  Manuscript, 
Dresden  Manuscript,  Codex  Vaticano,  and  Codex 
Lettellier.  This  last  is  in  the  Imperial  Library  at 
Paris.  We  are  not  aware  that  any  of  these  manu- 
scripts have  been  copied,  except  the  Troano. 

This  one  belonged  to  a gentleman  named  Tro  y 
Ortelano,  Professor  of  Paleography  at  the  Madrid 
University;  he  lent  it  to  the  learned  archaeologist 
Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  permitting  him  to 
reproduce  it,  the  French  government  defraying 
expenses ; one  of  those  facsimile  copies  is  in  our 
possession. 

The  Troano  Manuscript  is  divided  in  two  parts, 
one  having  thirty-six  plates,  the  other  thirty-four, 
each  measuring  about  ten  by  five  inches,  and 

being  separated  by  broad,  horizontal  lines  into  two 
8 


1 14  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

three,  or  four  compartments,  as  paragraphs.  Some 
of  the  pages  are  illustrated  by  colored  sketches, 
others  are  composed  entirely  of  text.  The  title- 
page  occupies  the  place  of  the  last  page  in  our 
books ; the  seventieth  plate  being  what  we  call  the 
first  page.  The  text  is  written  sometimes  in  hori- 
zontal lines,  sometimes  in  vertical  columns  ; these 
columns  commencing  at  the  top  or  bottom,  ac- 
cording to  the  fancy  of  the  writer ; the  Mayas  in 
this,  as  in  many  other  things,  resembling  the  Egypt- 
ians. The  page  must  be  read  from  right  to  left ; if 
the  sentences  are  all  in  vertical  columns,  the  column 
on  the  right  must  be  read  first. 

In  the  Troano  Manuscript  the  direction  of  all 
sentences  is  indicated  by  a faint  red  line  beneath, 
or,  if  in  columns,  at  their  side.  These  lines  seem 
to  have  been  entirely  overlooked  by  the  few  scholars 
who  have  hitherto  attempted  the  task  of  translat- 
ing the  book;  the  result  may  be  better  imagined 
than  described. 

Dr.  Le  Plongeon  has  translated  part  of  the  Manu- 
script. Fie  finds  that  it  is  a work  on  geology  and 
ethnology,  containing  also  an  account  of  some  prin- 
cipal events  in  the  early  history  of  the  Maya  nation. 
For  example,  part  of  the  history  of  the  Can 
family,  is  recorded  in  the  second  part,  correspond- 


THE  LOST  LITERA  TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS. 

ing  exactly  to  what  we  have  discovered,  regarding 
that  royal  family,  in  our  study  of  the  ancient  paint- 
ings and  inscriptions. 

The  author  of  the  Troano  Manuscript  appears 
to  have  had  a knowledge  of  the  various  strata  of 
which  the  crust  of  our  planet  is  composed,  for  he 
has  painted  them  of  different  colors.  He  seems 
to  have  also  known  that  the  convulsions  of  these 
superficial  strata,  earthquakes,  were  due  to  vol- 
canic forces,  and  to  have  been  acquainted  with  these 
forces,  since  he  represented  the  activity  of  volca- 
noes by  appropriate  signs. 

In  this  book  we  find  records  of  cataclysms  by 
which  the  face  of  the  earth  has  more  than  once 
been  changed,  owing  to  the  submersion  of  some 
lands,  and  the  upheaval  of  others.  It  confirms  the 
story  of  the  disappearance  of  a great  island,  Plato’s 
Atlantis,  in  the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  text  con- 
sists of  very  brief  sentences  that  tell  the  facts  in 
as  few  words  as  possible. 

How  old  is  the  Troano  Manuscript?  is  a question 
frequently  put  to  us;  and  one  that  we  cannot 
answer  positively.  It  is,  however,  our  opinion  that 
the  book  was  written  thirteen  hundred  years  ago ; 
although  it  refers  to  events  which  took  place  in 
very  remote  ages. 


Il6  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

Like  the  Egyptians,  the  Mayas  had  a demotic 
(popular)  and  a sacred  alphabet  ; many  of  the  signs 
in  each  being  similar  to  those  of  the  Egyptians. 

In  the  ancient  edifices  of  the  Mayas  we  find 
inscriptions  in  stone,  wood,  and  stucco.  Those  of 
stone  are  in  three  styles,  intaglio,  bas-relief,  and 
mezzo-relievo.  The  wood-carvings  are  in  bas-relief ; 
those  of  stucco  in  mezzo-relievo. 

The  writings  of  Mexico  proper  (anciently  Yuca- 
tan was  not  part  of  Mexico)  were  altogether  picto- 
rial. Not  so  those  of  the  Mayas;  but,  like  the 
Egyptians,  the  Maya  scholars  represented  material 
objects  by  drawing  their  outlines  to  render  their  con- 
ceptions more  plain  to  those  uninitiated  in  the  arts  of 
reading  and  writing. 

They  also  employed  symbolic  characters,  in  order 
to  conceal  truths  discovered  by  them  when  they 
did  not  care  to  make  them  known  to  the  multitude; 
perhaps  believing  that  “ the  secrets  of  nature  or  art 
discovered  by  philosophers,  must  be  hidden  from 
the  unworthy.”* 

Besides  pictorial  and  symbolic  characters,  they 
had  phonetic  or  alphabetical  signs,  letters,  which 
they  called  uooh.  The  Maya  hierogrammatists  often 


* Roger  Bacon,  de  secret,  oper.  art.  et  nat.,  cap.  i. 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  nj 

employed  in  one  inscription  two  modes  of  writing, 
even  three ; the  figurative,  symbolic,  and  phonetic  ; 
neither  of  them  were  like  that  which  among  the 
Egyptian  writings  is  called  demotic. 

By  the  figurative  method,  subjects  of  a purely 
physical  nature  could  be  presented  to  the  mind  more 
surely  than  by  the  most  perfect  phonetic  system. 
In  writing  the  names  of  persons  by  this  method  the 
signs  used  are  called  totems , and  are  images  of  the 
things  they  take  their  names  from;  thus  an  individ- 
ual named  Fish  would  be  represented  as  a fish. 

By  the  symbolical  method,  ideas  were  indirectly 
expressed.  They  consisted  for  the  most  part  of 
certain  emblems  denoting  different  names  given  to 
Deity,  the  various  phenomena  of  nature,  and  certain 
metaphysical  conceptions : for  example,  in  the 
Troano  Manuscript  the  busy  bee  signifies  the  activi- 
ty of  volcanic  forces. 

As  among  other  nations  of  antiquity,  so  among 
the  Mayas,  the  priests  and  noblemen  were  the 
scholars.  About  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian 
era  many  of  these  were  put  to  death  ; others  fled  for 
dear  life,  to  wander  in  distant  lands,  because  the 
warlike  and  blood-thirsty  Nahualts  of  Mexico  invad- 
ed the  country  and  conquered  its  inhabitants. 

We  have  reason  to  hope  that  at  that  time  the 


1 1 8 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

wise  men  concealed  some  of  their  books  to  save  them 
from  destruction.  If  we  ever  obtain  the  necessary- 
protection,  we  shall  endeavor  to  bring  those  vol- 
umes to  light. 

It  is  possible  that  some  old  books  are  yet  hidden 
among  the  extremely  secretive  natives  ; in  fact  we 
have  had  vague  information  of  such  books  on  two 
occasions.  When  we  were  at  Mugeres  Island,  Don 
Pedro  Pobedano,  the  oldest  inhabitant  of  that  place, 
told  us  that  when  he  was  a boy  he  knew  a very  old 
man  named  Jacobo  Canul,  who  lived  on  the  main- 
land at  a place  called  2)bantun,  near  the  city  of 
Motul ; that  he  had  a large  Maya  book  called  by  him 
sacred  writings.  In  it  there  were  many  prophecies, 
“ some  of  which  have  been,  others  are  being,  ful- 
filled,” said  Don  Pedro.  He  did  not  know  what  had 
become  of  the  old  man  or  his  book. 

Again  when  we  were  at  Espita,  in  the  interior  of 
Yucatan,  we  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  Indian 
potter,  said  to  be  a hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  but 
having  all  his  faculties,  and  still  working  for  his  liv- 
ing ; his  name  was  Mariano  Chable.  When  we  asked 
him  if  he  knew  anything  about  the  ancient  ruins  in 
the  city  of  Chichen  Itza,  he  said,  “ No,  but  when  I 
was  a boy  I knew  a very  old  man  whose  name  was 
Alayon,  and  he  talked  to  me  about  the  enchanted 


THE  LOST  LI  TER  A TURE  OF  THE  MA  YAS.  ng 

houses.  He  had  a book  that  only  he  could  read , 
which  contained  many  things  about  them.  I do  not 
know  what  became  of  the  sacred  book.” 

With  the  dispersion  of  the  Maya  priests,  the  arts 
and  sciences  disappeared,  or  died  out;  yet  there  were 
some  men  who  remembered  the  primitive  history  of 
the  nation,  who  perhaps  had  in  their  possession 
ancient  books.  The  author  of  the  Troano  Manu- 
script seems  to  have  had  some  such  documents. 

But  the  antique  or  hieratic  mode  of  writing  being 
only  understood  by  those  initiated  in  the  art,  under 
oath  of  secrecy,  a new  alphabetical  system  was  need- 
ed. In  the  mural  inscriptions  we  find  also  traces  of 
a writing  that  might  have  been  known  to  the  people, 
as  was  the  demotic  among  the  Egyptians.  These 
popular  letters  no  doubt  served,  together  with  some 
of  the  signs  of  the  Nahualts,  to  form  the  alphabet 
that  Landa,  several  centuries  later,  found  in  use,  and 
preserved  for  us  at  the  same  time  that  he  destroyed  all 
the  Maya  literature  he  could  lay  hands  on.  His  al- 
phabet contains  only  six  letters  of  the  old  hieratic 
alphabet,  which  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  has  discovered  by 
studying  the  sculptured  mural  inscriptions. 

The  Troano  Manuscript  is  written  with  the  new 
alphabet,  and  for  this  reason  we  judge  that  the  work 
was  compiled  after  the  settlement  of  the  Nahualts 
in  the  peninsula. 


120 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 


The  task  of  fully  translating  the  volume  requires 
much  patient  labor ; yet  would  be  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  work  of  interpreting  the  mural  in- 
scriptions found  on  the  walls  of  the  ancient  temples 
and  palaces.  Nevertheless,  this  can  be  done  if  students 
turn  their  attention  to  it,  because  the  alphabet  dis- 
covered by  us  is  a key  to  them,  and  the  language  in 
which  the  records  are  inscribed  is  still  spoken — 
though  many  words  are  lost  or  changed — by  the 
aborigines  of  Yucatan,  who  gaze  with  awe  and  wonder 
upon  the  handiwork  of  their  ancestors. 


FABLES  TOLD  BY  THE  MAYA  INDIANS. 


MONG  the  great  number  of  languages  now 


j[~\. spoken  by  mankind,  one  of  the  most  melliflu- 
ous and  expressive  is  the  Maya  tongue  of  Yucatan, 
Peten,  and  the  frontier  of  Guatemala.  There  is  a 
great  charm  in  listening  to  fables  told  by  the  na- 
tives of  those  places  as  they  have  learned  them  from 
their  fathers,  one  generation  after  another,  for  cen- 
turies past. 

The  ancient  Maya  poets,  whose  writings  were 
burned  by  the  first  Spanish  priests  that  went  among 
them,  generally  sought  in  the  voices  of  the  animals 
for  something  that  would  enable  them  to  give  a 
pleasant  lesson  in  morality.  Thus  it  is  that  the  songs 
of  the  various  birds,  and  even  their  most  mournful 
cries,  are  explained  in  fables.  We  have  already  pub- 
lished the  story  of  that  gorgeous  bird  called  Tok , 
and  how  it  always  cries  tok  ! tok  ! (straight ! straight !), 
because  at  the  time  of  the  deluge  (destruction  of 
Atlantis)  it  was  ordered  to  perch  at  the  cross-roads 
and  direct  divers  creatures  to  a place  of  safety. 

The  pretty  dove  called  Cucutcib  seems  to  be  ever 


122 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


grieving.  From  the  depths  of  those  forests  where 
sunbeams  dance  among  the  leaves  and  struggle  with 
them  in  a vain  endeavor  to  reach  the  delicate  ferns 
and  flowers  that  nestle  below,  her  sweet  but  plain- 
tive cry  is  wafted  to  us  on  the  breeze  that  comes  laden 
with  forest  echoes.  Soft  and  clear,  each  syllable 
strikes  our  ear — cuuc-tu-tuzen  ! ending  as  with  a sigh, 
and  the  Maya  poet  tells  us  why  the  bird  is  lament- 
ing. 

This  violet-plumed  dove,  emblem  of  the  faithful 
wife,  was,  on  a lovely  morning,  carefully  guarding 
the  little  eggs  in  the  nest.  Along  came  the  squirrel, 
a sagacious  and  artful  creature,  and  perched  on  a 
pliant  bough  near  by  the  tranquil  nest.  Making 
himself  as  pretty  and  winning  as  possible,  he  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  dove. 

“ My  dear  friend,  why  do  you  thus  always  remain 
at  home,  lonely  and  unsociable?” 

“ My  husband  is  out,”  said  the  innocent  wife ; 
“ when  he  returns  I will  go.  We  must  not  leave 
the  tiny  eggs  unprotected.”  “ Poor  little  one!”  re- 
plied the  sly  animal,  “ while  you  are  taking  care  of 
the  nest  your  husband  is  amusing  himself  with  other 
doves.  This  very  day,  I have  seen  him  with  my 
own  eyes.” 

Like  a poisoned  arrow,  jealousy  wounded  the 


FABLES  TOLD  BY  THE  MA  YA  LNDLANS.  123 

heart  of  the  dove  and  she  hastily  abandoned  the 
nest. 

Immediately  the  squirrel  devoured  the  small  eggs, 
having  won  his  breakfast  by  his  own  cunning,  and 
the  credulity  of  the  simple  and  jealous  dove. 

When  she  returned  to  the  nest,  alas  ! she  sighed 
with  anguish  to  find  it  empty  and  the  frail  shells  scat- 
tered in  fragments  upon  the  ground  beneath  ! Since 
then  she  only  repeats  in  soft  and  sorrowful  accents, 
cuuc-tu-tuzen  ! cuuc-tu-tuzen , that  is,  “The  squirrel  de- 
ceived me,  the  squirrel  deceived  me.” 

The  fable  concludes  by  saying  that  in  view  of 
what  happened  to  the  dove,  the  married  woman 
should  always  be  extremely  prudent;  and  that  people 
in  general  should  be  on  their  guard  against  malig- 
nant and  cunning  mischief-makers,  who  are  ever 
ready  to  reach  their  own  ends  by  cheating  unsus- 
picious people. 

A similar  fable  is  that  of  the  owl  and  the  iguana 
(large  lizard),  supposed  to  account  for  the  doleful  cry 
of  certain  owls  that  give  vent  to  prolonged  O’s  ! at  all 
hours  of  the  night. 

In  a snug  little  grotto  the  mother  owl  was  arrang- 
ing her  feathers  and  saying  to  herself.  “ I shall  go 
when  he  returns.” 

Soon  her  mate  was  by  her  side,  ana  she  told  him 


1 24  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN . 

to  be  very  watchful,  because  she  had  seen  a large 
iguana  close  by.  “ Be  sure  you  do  not  abandon  the 
nest  one  minute,”  she  said,  as  she  put  the  last  touch 
to  her  feathers  and  flew  away. 

Hardly  was  she  out  of  sight  when  an  acquaintance 
came  to  invite  Mr.  Owl  to  go  a short  distance  with 
her  to  look  at  her  own  beautiful  offspring  that  had 
just  opened  their  lovely  eyes. 

“ Impossible  !”  he  said,  “ my  wife  has  left  me  to 
take  care  of  this  nest.” 

But  the  other  enticed  him,  saying.  “You  can  re- 
turn immediately,  and  she  will  not  know  you  have 
been  out.” 

The  foolish  bird  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded, 
and  away  he  flew  to  gratify  his  neighbor’s  wish  and 
his  own  curiosity. 

Meanwhile,  the  dreaded  iguana  had  the  nest  in 
view,  being  on  the  trunk  of  a tree  near  by.  As 
soon  as  the  white-breasted  owl  had  gone,  he  crawled 
down  to  the  ground  and  rustled  through  the  dry 
leaves  scattered  at  the  foot  of  the  tree.  Stealthily 
approaching  the  coveted  eggs  he  carefully  took  one 
between  his  jaws  and  went  behind  a big  stone  to  en- 
joy his  ill-gotten  meal.  Before  he  had  time  to  go 
for  the  other,  the  truant  owl  returned,  and  great  was 
his  dismay. 


FABLES  TOLD  BY  TLIE  MA  YA  INDIANS.  \2$ 

“ Is  it  possible  ! ” he  exclaimed,  “ why  ! I have 
only  been  away  a minute.  What  can  I do?  Come 
what  may,  I shall  not  say  that  I have  left  the  nest, 
and  I will  try  to  persuade  my  wife  that  there  was. 
but  one  egg  when  she  went  from  here.” 

Very  soon  he  saw  her  coming  and  his  heart  was. 
ail  in  a flutter,  but  he  tried  to  look  unconcerned  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  He  stood  on  one  side  of  the 
nest  and  made  himself  as  pretty  as  he  could  to  at- 
tract her  attention  ; but  the  maternal  eye  instantly 
fell  on  the  nest,  and  a cry  of  indignation  made  the 
owl  start.  However,  with  feigned  surprise  he  said  : 
“ Why!  what’s  the  matter?  ” 

“ Wretch  ! where  is  the  other  egg?  ” she  demand- 
ed 

“ Other  egg  ! ” echoed  he. 

“ Yes,  other  egg  ! There  were  two,  and  well  you 
know  it.  Monster ! you  have  been  away  and  the 
iguana  has  come.” 

Pretending  to  be  very  innocent,  the  owl  opened 
his  eyes  wider  and  said  : “You  are  certainly  mis- 
taken; there  was  only  one  egg.” 

But  his  wife  knew  better,  and  upbraided  him  bit- 
terly, in  spite  of  his  assertion  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  it.  Loudly  lamenting  her  loss  she  searched 
around  the  grotto,  piteously  exclaming  O ! O ! O ! 


126  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

and  soon  found  fragments  of  egg-shell  which  told 
their  own  sad  story,  and  destroyed  all  her  doubts  and 
the  confidence  that  she  had  ever  had  in  her  mate, 
who  had  lied  to  try  to  hide  the  wrong  he  had  done. 
Ever  since  then  the  owl  has  remained  inconsolable, 
and  in  the  dead  of  night  we  hear  her  bewailing 
her  loss,  always  repeating  O ! O ! O ! Now  this, 
concludes  the  poet,  should  teach  us  never  to  be  per- 
suaded to  do  what  is  contrary  to  our  conscience  or 
good  judgment,  if  we  would  keep  out  of  trouble. 


MAYA  ROMANCE.* 


IN  the  famous  city  of  Chichen  Itza  there  is  much 
rejoicing  and  great  preparation,  for  Chanbel, 
the  valiant  and  noble  young  lord,  is  to  be  united  to 
the  beautiful  Lila  (dew-drop). 

And  she  ? Alas  ! the  tears  fall  thick  and  fast  from 
her  dark  lashes  when  her  hand-maids  are  not  by ; 
she  loves  not  Chanbel.  He  is  good  and  devoted, 
but  her  heart  is  given  to  another  whom  she  has  been 
forbidden  to  see,  even  to  think  of,  because  when 
yet  a babe  she  was  betrothed  to  the  one  who  will 
soon  so  gladly  claim  her  as  his  bride  ! For  she  is 
beautiful  as  the  loveliest  flower ; with  eyes  bright  as 
the  glorious  sun  they  worship ; gentle  as  the  placid 
water  of  the  lakelet;  pure  as  the  mountain  air; — so 
says  Chanbel,  and  he  is  happy. 

Lild  wanders  amid  the  flowers  on  the  broad  ter- 
races surrounding  her  childhood’s  home  ; her  maids 
marvel  at  her  down-cast  looks.  Is  she  ill?  Have 
they  displeased  her  ? No,  but  she  wishes  to  be  alone. 


* Published  in  “ Home  Journal. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  AN  INDIAN  SAGE.  * 


HE  day  was  dying,  and  the  great  crimson 


JL  orb,  surrounded  by  golden  and  purple  clouds, 
half  sunk  below  the  horizon,  looked  like  the  domed 
roof  of  some  vast  temple.  Each  wrapped  in  his  own 
thoughts,  the  aged  man  and  I,  together  admired  the 
exquisite  beauty  of  that  sky;  but  how  differently 
did  it  impress  us ! The  sage,  wrinkled  and  bent, 
was  reminded  by  the  setting  sun  that  his  day  too 
was  drawing  to  a close  ; something  like  a sigh  es- 
caped him.  Was  it  regret  or  anticipation  of  release? 

“ Father,  ” I said,  “such  a scene  fills  my  soul  with 
delight,  with  hope.  The  beautiful  colors  and  forms 
make  me  revel  in  dreams  of  brighter  lands,  of  a bet- 
ter state,  where  there  shall  be  only  joy  and  good- 
ness. Surely  in  time  man  will  become  more  perfect 
even  here.  There  is  much  to  hope  for;  we  must 
have  faith  in  the  future.  What  sayest  thou  ? ” 
Raising  his  head,  the  old  man  said,  “ Hope  ! faith! 
enchanting  illusions,  interminable  anticipations 

* Published  in  “ Home  Journal,”  and  in  the  “ North  British  Adver- 
tiser ” of  Edinburgh. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  AN  INDIAN  SAGE. 


131 

never  to  be  fulfilled ! Afar  off  we  see  a glittering 
light,  soft  and  clear  as  that  of  the  fire-flies  that  illu- 
mine the  darkness  of  night.  It  is  distant,  very  dis- 
tant ; that  distance  is  the  future,  unknown,  mysteri- 
ous, always  before  us,  never  to  be  overtaken.  We 
see  the  bright  beam,  but  between  it  and  us  all  is 
vague  and  shadowy.  The  solitary  light  is  hope, 
with  its  glowing  radiance,  its  deceptive  mirage ; 
hope  that  instills  into  us  life  and  courage  to  go  on — 
on — into  the  dim  future  of  many  griefs  and  few 
joys  ; that  future  from  which,  could  they  peer  into 
it,  many  would  shrink  aghast,  and  to  which  others 
would  wish  to  rush  blindly  forward  to  gather  the  yet 
unripe  fruit  that  in  their  ignorance — poor  fools  ! — 
they  think  will  give  them  happiness.  O,  soft  ray  ! 
O,  fair  hope ! everchanging,  never,  never  true ! for 
delightful  as  the  reality  may  be,  how  far  does  it  fall 
short  of  the  expectation ! The  nectar  we  have 
longed  to  quaff  no  sooner  reaches  our  lips  than  it 
becomes  embittered  ! Hope  is  but  a vain  shadow, 
and  we  cling  to  it  as  to  a strong  anchor  ; like  the 
bright  reflection  cast  by  a mirror,  its  light  with- 
drawn leaves  us  in  yet  greater  darkness,  Daughter, 
those  who  have  no  hope  are  never  disappointed.  ” 

“ Ah,  let  us  not  lose  it !”  I interrupted  ; “ better  to 
be  disappointed  than  hopeless ; few  indeed  are 


132  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

the  brave  souls  that  need  not  hope  ; many  a weary 
spirit,  without  that  one  poor  consolation,  would  pass 
through  its  joyless  existence  like  a wanderer  in  the 
desert  without  sun  or  star  to  guide  him  on.  ” 

But  the  sage  said,  “ Happy  is  he  who  after  a lapse 
of  years  can  yet  hope  ! Happy  the  one  whose  heart 
has  not  grown  sick  from  hope  long  deferred  ; for 
hope  departed,  can  faith  exist  ? Faith  is  hope’s 
youngest  sister.  We  hope,  and  have  faith  that  our 
hopes  will  be  realised.  We  cease  to  hope — for  what 
then  do  we  require  faith  ? Faith  for  the  hour  in 
which  we  are,  is  not  needed.  Faith,  embracing  hope, 
is  in  the  future  ; both  are  in  fact  mere  words,  void  of 
meaning  even  for  the  most  hopeful  and  faithful.  ” 
Gazing  upon  the  wrinkled  face  of  my  companion 
my  heart  was  filled  with  pity  for  one  who  had  been 
robbed  of  all  life’s  sweet  illusions,  and  I said,  “ At 
least  we  have  the  happiness  of  doing  good  to  the 
sorrowing  and  needy  ; we  may  ever  rejoice  in  the 
exercise  of  charity.  And  yet,  can  lovely  charity  ex- 
ist where  hope  and  faith  have  fled  ? ” 

“ No  !”  replied  the  aged  man ; “ if  we  hope  not  for 
better  things,  have  faith  in  no  one,  in  nothing — the 
motive  for  charity  is  gone.  Why  put  forth  a hand 
to  raise  the  fallen  if  we  have  no  hope  for  them,  if  we 
believe  they  will  fall  again  as  surely  as  the  sun  will 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  AH  INDIAN  SAGE. 


133 

rise  to-morrow?  To  relieve  the  temporary  wants  of 
a fellow-creature  is  called  charity.  The  beggar  wan- 
ders forth  from  his  wretched  hovel  with  hope  and 
faith  to  win  something  from  charity.  He  succeeds 
and  shares  his  morsel  with  one  as  miserable  as  him- 
self. The  beggar  in  that  brief  hour  exercises  hope, 
faith,  and  charity.  Thinkest  thou  that  he  would 
share  the  food  if  his  heart  was  not  buoyed  up  with 
the  hope  of  obtaining  more  ? Assuredly  not ! Had 
he  not  faith  in  to-morrow,  he  would  not  give  away 
the  mouthful  that  might  preserve  his  own  life.  Let 
me  tell  thee,  O,  deluded  young  dreamer ! that  char- 
ity is  trodden  in  the  dust  when  the  great  law  of 
self-preservation  thrusts  itself  forward.  Ah  no ! 
that  beggar  would  hoard  the  fragment  of  food  as 
a miser  his  treasure.  In  hopes  of  obtaining  more 
to-morrow  he  is  charitable  to-day.  Believe  me, 
daughter,  such  is  life  in  its  stern  reality.  Poor  hu- 
manity ! with  all  its  pride,  its  vices,  its  prated  vir- 
tues, what  is  it  ? Make  a hole  in  the  earth,  fill  it  to 
the  brim  with  flesh — human  or  not  human,  all  flesh 
is  alike— return  to  that  spot  a few  days  later  ; gaze 
upon  that  same  flesh.  Ah  ! thou  recoilest ! None 
could  recognize  mother  from  brother,  father  from 
sister.  All  identity  is  gone,  and  millions  of  iden- 
tities will  spring  from  the  destruction,  identities 


134  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

that  we  either  ignore  or  regard  as  infinitely  inferior 
to  ourselves  ; identities  that  are,  in  fact,  no  less  im- 
portant in  the  Great  Whole  than  we — we  who  con- 
sider ourselves  of  such  vast  interest  to  the  Supreme 
Power ; we,  who  deem  ourselves  so  wise  ! though  we 
cannot  even  in  our  brief  mundane  life,  learn  half  the 
wonders  of  the  world  we  inhabit — this  little  ball  of 
matter ! Spread  some  earth  over  the  pitful  of  flesh 
so  foul  to  our  coarse  sight.  Soon  it  will  yield  most 
sweet-scented  flowers,  nevertheless  they  and  their 
perfume  are  the  product  of  corruption.  ” 

The  old  man  paused.  Stretching  my  hand  toward 
the  darkening  heavens,  already  studded  with  a few 
glittering  stars,  I asked  him,  “ Is  there,  then,  no 
perfect  happiness  in  any  part  of  that  immensity,  no 
divine  abode  where  sorrow  is  unknown?’' 

“ Happiness  and  sorrow  only  exist  by  comparison. 

% 

The  two  conditions  are  as  inseparable  as  light  and 
shadow.  Wert  thou  to  live  a million  years  in  every 
part  of  the  universe,  thou  couldst  never  escape  all 
pain.  To  be,  is  to  suffer  as  well  as  to  rejoice.  Subdue 
thy  emotions  in  order  to  be  less  sensitive  to  grief, 
and  thy  capacity  for  joy  will  likewise  be  decreased. 
If  thou  wouldst  know  the  way  to  avoid  suffering  as 
far  as  it  lies  in  thy  power,  I admonish  thee  to  com- 
mune much  with  nature,  and  little  with  man  ; and  if 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  AH  INDIAN  SAGE. 


135 

thou  desirest  a cheerful  spirit,  see  that  thy  body  en- 
joys perfect  health.  For  the  rest,  let  conscience  be 
thy  guide — that  is,  do  always  what  thou  believest 
right.  ” 

“Canst  tell  me,  father,  what  is  truly  right,  what 
wrong  ?” 

“ The  law-givers  of  each  land  will  assure  thee  that 
right  is  to  obey  their  mandates  ; and  will  chastise 
any  divergence  from  them  ; while  Nature,  inexorable, 
will  instantly  inflict  the  penalty  of  any  disobedience 
to  her  laws.  Vice  is  to  do  anything  that  is  un- 
natural. It  is  right  for  the  creatures  peopling  sea 
and  air  to  prey  upon  and  devour  each  other  ; they 
obey  that  supreme  law,  self-preservation.  Harsh  as 
it  may  sound,  selfishness  is  a law  that  all  must  obey. 

“ Those  creatures  follow  that  unerring  guide  called 
instinct,  almost  destroyed  in  man,  who  is  now  in 
a pitiable  intermediate  condition  ; having  enough 
intelligence  to  enable  him  to  make  himself  miserable 
by  abusing  instead  of  using.  Alas ! will  he  ever 
be  intellectual  enough  to  seek  happiness  through 
perfect  obedience  to  nature’s  laws?  The  fanatic 
fasts  until  he  is  horrible  to  look  upon,  heaping  indig- 
nities and  torments  on  his  unfortunate  body.  The 
glutton  forces  into  his  poor  stomach  what  would 
be  enough  to  keep  two  or  three  men  in  good  health. 


I 3 6 HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN. 

Are  not  the  fanatic  and  the  glutton  equally  culpable 
and  wretched  ? Be  moderate  in  all  things  ; crave 
neither  wealth  nor  honors,  for  only  knowledge  and 
wisdom  can  give  true  satisfaction.  Ponder  my 
words,  daughter,  and  if  thou  dost  not  realize  them 
to-day,  thou  wilt  do  so  at  some  future  time  when  we 
see  each  other  no  more.  ” 


SUPERSTITIONS  CONCERNING  ECLIPSES  * 


ROM  time  immemorial,  most  peculiar  ideas 


X have  been  and  are  entertained  in  different  parts 
of  the  world  concerning  eclipses  and  their  cause. 
The  Hindoos  believe  that  a black  demon  seizes  the 
moon  with  its  claws.  As  long  as  darkness  prevails,  the 
air  is  filled  with  lamentations,  men,  women,  and 
children  entering  the  rivers,  where  they  remain  up 
to  their  neck  in  water  until  the  return  of  light. 

The  Siamese  priests  (Talapoins)  believe  that  when 
the  moon  is  eclipsed  a great  dragon  is  devouring  it  ; 
in  order  to  oblige  him  to  let  go  his  prey  they  make 
all  sorts  of  abominable  noises. 

The  Chinese,  like  the  Laplanders,  are  convinced 
that  an  eclipse  is  the  work  of  demons ; and  make  a 
great  hubbub  to  frighten  them  away. 

The  Romans  believed  the  eclipses  to  be  the  work 
of  magicians,  and  that  a great  noise  could  prevent 
them  from  hurting  the  moon.  Plutarch  says  that 
Aglaonice,  during  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  which  she 
predicted,  persuaded  the  women  of  Thessalica  that 


* Published  in  “ Scientific  American. 


138  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

by  her  magic  songs  she  had  not  only  the  power  to 
darken  the  moon,  but  to  oblige  it  to  descend  upon 
the  earth. 

The  Greeks,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor, 
stood  in  excessive  awe  of  eclipses.  According  to 
Herodotus,  in  the  year  610  B.  C.,  while  a battle  was 
raging  between  the  Lydians  and  the  Medes,  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  predicted  by  Phales  of  Millet,  oc- 
curred. It  not  only  put  an  end  to  the  fight,  but  the 
contending  parties  hastened  to  make  peace,  cement- 
ing the  treaty  by  the  marriage  of  Aryenis  to  Astya- 
ges. 

If  we  now  turn  to  America,  we  find  that  the  Peru- 
vians, Mexicans,  and  others,  were  terrified  by  the 
phenomenon.  The  Peruvians  particularly  dreaded 
the  eclipse  of  the  moon ; they  imagined  that  Luna 
was  suffering  from  one  of  the  mysterious  diseases 
to  which  she  was  supposed  to  be  subject,  and  feared 
that  the  queen  of  night  might  burst  open  and  fall 
upon  them.  To  avoid  such  a terrible  calamity,  and 
awaken  her  from  her  lethargy,  they  would  sound  loud 
instruments,  shout  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  and 
beat  the  dogs  to  make  them  howl.  This  custom  of 
making  a racket  during  an  eclipse  still  obtains  all 
over  Peru,  even  in  Lima. 

The  Mexicans  imagined  that  eclipses  occurred 


S UPERS TI TIONS  CONCERNING  ECLIPSES.  139 

in  consequence  of  a family  squabble  between  the 
sun  and  moon,  and  that  the  moon  was  wounded  in 
the  fray.  The  frightened  men  observed  rigorous 
fasts,  the  women  inflicted  corporal  punishment  on 
themselves,  and  young  girls  drew  blood  from  their 
arms. 

In  Yucatan,  the  descendants  of  the  Mayas  are  con- 
vinced that  when  Luna  is  eclipsed  she  is  sick  in  con- 
sequence of  beingbitten  by  some  large  American  war- 
like ants  called  Xulabs,  and  that  they  will  devour  her 
if  she  is  left  without  help.  To  frighten  away  her 
enemies  they  beat  drums,  blow  shell  trumpets,  shout, 
beat  their  dogs,  pinch  the  cats’  tails,  and  fire  rockets 
and  guns  towards  the  moon. 


EVOCATION  OF  SPIRITS  * 


IN  Belen  del  Gran  Para,  among  the  most  ignorant 
of  the  natives,  there  are  medicine  men  and  women 
who  frequently  make  very  successful  cures  by  mys- 
terious means,  saving  patients  that  have  been  pro- 
nounced incurable  by  licensed  physicians  ; such  cases 
become  widely  known. 

These  medicine  men  say  they  work  by  order  of 
spirits  of  the  fire  and  spirits  from  the  bottom  of  the 
deep  ; those  who  claim  the  help  of  the  fire  spirits  are 
said  to  cure  best.  Each  of  these  peculiar  doctors  is 
supposed  to  be  influenced  by  a tribe  of  unseen  beings 
subordinate  to  a superior,  who  takes  charge  of  the 
most  difficult  cases,  and  whose  opinion  is  highly  re- 
spected. The  invisible  healers  are  said  to  be  ghosts 
of  people  who  belonged  to  the  most  ignorant  classes 
of  humanity,— black  slaves,  white  roughs,  savage 
Indians,  cruel  pirates,  etc.,  each  answering  to  some 
particular  name. 

Besides  his  fixed  number  of  assistant  spectres,  in 


* Published  in  “ Harpers’  Bazar.1 


EVOCATION  OF  SPIRITS. 


I4r 

whom  the  medicine  man  has  unbounded  confidence,, 
others  attend  when  permitted  by  the  chief  ghost — 
that  the  medicine-man  pretends  to  hear,  see,  and 
touch  when  alone,  and  without  whose  permission  he- 
dares  not  hold  intercourse  with  inferior  spirits. 
The  men  say  that  they  themselves  know  nothing  of 
disease  or  medicine,  but  that  after  a while  they  are 
unable  to  free  themselves  from  the  authority  of  the 
invisible  beings  who  impose  upon  them  the  mission 
of  always  curing,  at  least  with  only  intervals  of  a few 
days  ; if  they  do  not  comply,  the  master  punishes 
them,  even  corporally.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
they  work  faithfully  and  well  the  master  is  complai- 
sant, taking  particular  care  to  cure  those  dear  to  the 
medicine  man.  The  more  moral  the  doctor,  the  more 
certain  the  cure,  they  say  ; those  who  have  acquir- 
ed bad  habits  are  influenced  by  evil  spirits  that,  far 
from  benefiting,  harm  the  patient.  Upon  such,  all 
look  with  horror  and  condemn  them  as  wizards. 

The  police  of  Para  pursue  these  medicine  men  and 
women  relentlessly;  while  the  lower  classes  of  socie- 
ty tacitly  protect  them,  and  will  never  point  out  the 
places  where  they  hold  their  meetings. 

The  medicine  man  appoints  a certain  day  for  pa- 
tients who  desire  to  consult  him,  with  their  families, 
and  any  friend  who  has  obtained  permission  to  be 


142 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 


present;  they  go  at  night-fall — one  or  two  at  a time, 
not  to  attract  attention — to  some  house  in  an  unfre- 
quented spot,  not  to  be  surprised  by  the  police  or 
annoyed  by  outsiders. 

About  nine  o’clock  the  visitors,  never  less  than 
fifteen  or  twenty,  must  be  at  the  place  indicated. 
They  are  recommended  to  be  very  circumspect,  to 
have  much  faith  in  all  they  see  and  hear,  and  to  sing 
with  each  spirit  certain  verses  that  correspond  to 
them.  The  doors  are  well  closed,  and  no  ope  can 
leave  till  the  meeting  adjourns,  except  with  the  mas- 
ter’s permission.  Sometimes  they  are  closeted  till 
early  dawn. 

The  medicine  man  first  occupies  himself  for  about 
an  hour  in  slowly  making  ten  or  twelve  cigars,  very 
thick,  and  nine  inches  long,  mixing  with  the  tobacco 
a small  quantity  of  pulverized  incense,  and  wrapping 
it  in  very  thin  bark.  There  are  two  bottles  of  fire- 
water on  hand  for  the  libations  of  “ the  spirits.” 
They  also  have  a small  hollow  globe  made  of  wood, 
perforated  with  many  holes;  inside  there  are  pebbles 
to  rattle.  This  primitive  kind  of  sistrum  is  secured 
to  a handle,  and  the  medicine  man  uses  it  to  call  the 
master  of  the  spirits;  they  say  that  he  gave  it  to 
them  for  that  purpose,  as  well  as  another  instrument 
made  of  buzzard  feathers. 


E VOCA  TION  OF  SPIRITS. 


1 43 

After  various  preparations  the  doctor  diminishes 
the  light  as  much  as  possible  without  extinguishing 
it ; and  concentrates  his  thoughts,  slowly  smoking 
one  of  the  cigars.  From  time  to  time  he  introduces 
the  lighted  end  in  his  mouth,  absorbing  a quantity 
of  smoke ; he  also  takes  one  of  the  instruments  men- 
tioned, and  sounds  it  rapidly  close  to  his  ears.  With 
his  mouth  he  fumigates  his  arms  and  hands,  in 
the  form  of  a cross,  until,  compelled  by  the  repe- 
tition of  these  operations,  he  closes  his  eyes  and 
seems  to  be  in  a somnambulistic  state. 

Half  tottering,  he  rises  and  passes  his  hands  several 
times  over  his  forehead;  then,  with  uplifted  arms, 
goes  to  the  nearest  wall,  strikes  it  hard  with  the 
palms  of  his  hands,  and  recedes  a few  steps,  always 
unsteady,  repeating  the  operation  two  or  three 
times.  At  last,  able  to  stand  firm,  he  turns  toward 
the  company,  and  says,  “ Good-evening.  ” His 
movements  are  free  ; his  features,  language,  way  of 
walking,  all  his  actions,  polite  or  rude,  take  the 
character  of  the  individual  supposed  to  possess  him. 

Those  present  never  address  the  doctor  by  his 
name,  but  that  of  the  one  said  to  control  him,  who, 
by  his  manners  and  language,  is  known  to  some  among 
them.  They  answer  his  greeting  with  courtesy,  and 
try  to  please  him  by  all  means  in  their  power,  offer- 


144 


HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCA  TAN . 


ing  him  rum  or  some  good  thing  they  have  prepared 
for  him;  beg  him  to  sing:  if  he  does,  join  in  with 
him,  and  respond  to  the  toasts  he  deigns  to  drink  to 
those  present.  Afterward,  by  invitation  or  volunta- 
rily, he  attentively  examines  the  patients,  gently 
touching  the  affected  parts,  and  asking  questions  con- 
cerning the  malady.  He  fumigates  the  seat  of  the 
disease,  makes  passes  over  the  individual  with  one  of 
the  small  musical  instruments,  and  lastly  prescribes. 
When  he  has  finished  attending  to  patients  he  takes 
more  fire-water  and  says  good-by.  Then  goes  to  the 
wall  as  before,  strikes  it  with  his  open  palms,  and 
seems  greatly  exhausted. 

After  a few  minutes’  rest  he  again  approaches  the 
wall,  as  already  described,  and  soon  is  said  to  be  un- 
der control  of  some  one  else,  who  with  very  little 
difference  repeats  what  the  first  did  ; one  thus  suc- 
ceeds another  throughout  the  night.  Some  only 
minister  to  two  or  three  patients,  others  to  many ; the 
master  always  attending  to  the  most  serious  cases. 
They  sometimes  approve  the  prescriptions  of  those 
who  have  preceded  them,  but  may  prescribe  other 
remedies  ; then  the  master  decides  which  shall  be 
used.  The  medicaments  ordered  are  herbs,  barks, 
roots,  and  in  a few  cases  purgatives  from  the  drug- 
store, to  be  used  exactly  as  directed.  When  bleed- 


EVOCATION  OF  SPIRITS. 


145 

ing  — in  the  arms  or  feet  — is  ordered,  the  doctor 
undertakes  to  bleed  them  at  once,  or  at  the  next 
meeting,  or  in  the  home  of  the  patient,  using  for  the 
operation  a piece  of  glass  tied  to  a small  stick. 

When  at  work  the  medicine  men  and  women  are 
naked  above  the  waist.  Some  make  their  prepara- 
tions in  complete  darkness,  requesting  those  present 
to  light  up  the  room  as  soon  as  they  are  influenced 
by  the  first  spirit.  Others  keep  the  room  in  obscur- 
ity only  during  the  first  part  of  the  night.  In  the 
dark,  after  the  preparatory  ceremonies,  a very  loud 
voice  seems  to  proceed  from  some  empty  utensil. 
It  salutes  those  present  by  roaring  out  “ Good-even- 
ing, ” takes  information  about  the  patients,  speaks 
of  incidents  connected  with  their  illness,  and  enters 
into  conversation  with  those  who  are  present  simply 
from  curiosity,  answering  almost  any  question  they 
ask,  even  concerning  the  future  ; then,  after  the 
people  sing  with  the  voice,  it  gives  thanks,  and  is 
heard  no  more.  Soon  another  manifests,  and  an- 
other, until  midnight,  when  the  doctor  puts  a stop 
to  it,  to  continue  with  light  the  other  part  of  the 
performance  above  described  ; then  the  voices  are 
no  longer  heard  except  through  the  mouth  of  the 
medicine  man. 

The  individuals  who  undertake  to  make  the  voices 
10 


146  HERE  AND  THERE  IN  YUCATAN. 

audible  are  very  few,  and  as  the  darkness  is  com- 
plete, one  cannot  know  whence  they  proceed.  It  is, 
however,  a fact  that  those  who  attend  such  meetings 
always  distinguish  the  supposed  spirits  by  some  par- 
ticular way  of  speaking  or  some  favorite  expressions, 
no  two  voices  being  alike ; and  they  address  those 
present  by  their  right  name  before  it  is  revealed. 

It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  in  Yucatan,  also,  the 
Indians  hide  themselves  at  night,  to  perform  cere- 
monies similar  to  those  that  take  place  in  Brazil. 
Instead  of  rum  they  use  a drink  called  balche,  which 
they  say  is  the  beverage  of  the  gods.  It  is  made  by 
soaking  the  bark  of  a tree  called  balche  in  honey 
and  water  that  is  allowed  to  ferment.  This  same 
liquor  is  used  in  equatorial  Africa,  and  when  long 
kept  becomes  very  intoxicating. 


/ 


